Family
by Crystal565
Summary: Harry Potter crossover. Angel finds a small child out alone and takes him in.
1. Meeting Angel

This is another example of my love of weird crossovers. This is Buffy/Harry Potter. Hope you guys like it. I'll get the next one out soon.

Angel watched the scene with growing unease, his eyes narrowed slightly. He shouldn't be here, but he couldn't possibly turn his back on this. Not now.

He'd come to England the same way he'd come to America. It was just another place to hide out. He'd only been walking around when he'd heard the faint sound of crying and he'd caught sight of a small boy who couldn't be more than four or five sitting outside of one of the many houses on this street.

Frowning and watching the boy, he wondered only for a moment what was wrong. When he caught the faint scent of blood, though, he couldn't just continue walking. Stepping into the yard he walked close and knelt a few feet away from the boy.

"Hello." The boy flinched and looked up at him, startled. Frightened green eyes met his. "I'm not going to hurt you." He said, raising his hands. The boy said nothing, eyeing him warily.

"What are you doing out here this late?" Angel noticed how the boy tensed up at the question, and how the fear in his eyes spiked up a notch. He started to get up. "Hey, wait." The boy froze, "its okay. I only want to help."

The boy wrapped his arms around himself and Angel noticed the bruises on one of them. Angel had a little trouble keeping the smile on his face when he did see them.

"You look like you could use something to eat, and a place to sleep. My names Angel." He reached out a hand to the boy, but didn't touch him, holding it out for him instead. The boy eyed him for a few minutes, and Angel was sure he wouldn't take his hand. After all, he was a stranger.

* * *

He'd been thinking of running away. Uncle Vernon had gotten angry with him again today. He didn't have anywhere to go, really. He'd stopped on the front steps of the house because he didn't have anywhere to go. Now, he was staring at the stranger before him.

The man had reached out a hand, but was waiting for him to take it. He didn't know a lot, but he knew that he shouldn't. He met the man's eyes. His eyes were different than Uncle Vernon's. They were a lot less mean.

Still, he shouldn't go places with strangers, he'd heard that before. The man had said that his name was Angel, but he still didn't know him. Harry jumped when he heard something from inside the house, and fear of his uncle finding him out there grew stronger than his fear of strangers and he took Angel's hand.

He tensed and nearly cried out when Angel swung him up in his arms but Angel just hugged him close and started walking, rubbing small circles on his back.

"It's okay." Angel murmured in his ear. "I'm not going to hurt you." He couldn't help but to bury his head in Angel's neck while they walked. He tried not to flinch when Angel touched one of the bruises on his back.

He couldn't help but to latch onto Angel. He'd never been hugged like that before. He knew that the words didn't mean anything. Uncle Vernon had used them before and then hurt him anyways, but he wanted to pretend a moment.

* * *

Angel walked fast towards his place. The boy had wrapped both arms around his neck and Angel wondered how bad the boy's home could be that would make him decide to come with a total stranger.

This was stupid, he knew that, but he couldn't have just left a little boy hurting like that. When he'd lifted the boy up, and felt how thin he was, and then how the boy flinched slightly when he touched his back, he felt the strong urge to go back to that house and let the demon in him loose on the people who would hurt a child like that.

When he got back to the place he'd been staying, he gently pulled the boy's hands away from his neck and sat him down on one of the chairs in the kitchen. He looked in the fridge even though he hadn't needed to really. He had no food. He didn't need food, after all. He knelt in front of the boy again.

"Listen, I don't really have anything to eat here. There's a store I can go to a couple of blocks away, though."

"I...it's alright." The boy spoke for the first time. His voice was quiet and hesitant. "You don't have to..."

"I know I don't have to." Angel said, giving the boy a smile. He watched as the boy fought off a yawn. "You know what? Why don't we worry about that later? You look tired." He lifted the boy up again and carried him to his bedroom.

Angel took off the boy's shoes and pulled a blanket up for him. He watched as the boy curled up on his side and then started out of the room. He stopped when he noticed that the boy was still watching him.

"What's wrong?" The boy bit his lip and shook his head. Angel walked back to the bed and sat down in the chair beside it.

"I can stay until you fall asleep if you want?" The boy didn't answer but Angel saw a small smile on his face before he closed his eyes. The boy's eyes snapped open though and he looked over at Angel.

"Almost forgot, my names Harry." Angel smiled at him again.

"Nice to meet you, Harry." He said as the kid closed his eyes once again.

* * *

Angel waited until he was sure that Harry was asleep before getting up. He didn't want to leave the place while Harry was asleep, but he wouldn't be able to go out again until the next night, so he decided to make it quick and get some food for the kid.

The next night, he'd take the boy to the police station; find him a better place to stay. He was definitely going to make sure that Harry never went back to the place he had been living.


	2. Getting Away

Harry woke up slowly and on his own for the first time since he could remember. He frowned for a moment with his eyes still closed, wondering why his aunt had let him sleep in. His eyes shot open though when he remembered what had happened the night before and he sat up in the bed. He ran his hand along the sheets and let out a smile before getting up and wondering into the other room.

Angel was in the kitchen, cooking something. It seemed he'd burned something from the smell in there. Harry watched him for a few minutes, still a little disbelieving that he was out of his aunt and uncles house. When Angel noticed him in the room, he actually gave a smile.

"Hey, buddy." He said.

"Hi." Harry walked into the room and stopped at the table. Angel sat a plate down on it with some sandwiches.

"Sorry. I tried something else. But, well, I haven't cooked in a _long _time." He sat a glass down as well. "I got some juice, though."

"Thank you." Harry said quietly as he sat down and Angel pushed the plate towards him. He ate quietly, frowning slightly. There was this little voice in his head that was whispering warnings to him.

"What's wrong?" Angel asked after a few minutes, frowning as well.

"Nothing." Harry looked down at his plate.

"Harry, what is it?" Harry chewed his lip, looking up at Angel.

"Well, it's just...what if they come here? I mean..." He shook his head. He didn't want to get Angel into trouble. What if Uncle Vernon found him here?

"They're not going to find this place." Angel said calmly. "First of all, I can take care of myself, so you shouldn't be worrying about that. Second," Angel stopped, leaning forward, "well, this place is protected, alright? No one can find it unless I want them too. Trust me on that." Harry nodded, feeling relieved by that and went back to eating.

* * *

Angel watched the boy eat. He supposed he should tell Harry his plans for after the sun went down again, but he figured he could wait until he had some food.

What he'd told Harry had been true. He had done it to keep Darla from finding him, though. It was a paranoia that he had about her. She could seriously mess with his head in a way that few others could.

He'd caught sight of her back in America. Maybe he was a coward. He couldn't seem to force himself to take her out. At least not yet.

"Listen, Harry." Angel knelt in front of the boy later. "I want you to know that I'm going to make sure your safe, alright? To do that, I think we should go to the police station tonight." Harry tensed at that and shook his head.

"I can't." He said, almost panicking. "Uncle Vernon said..." He trailed off before he revealed anything damaging.

"They'll take care of you." Angel pressed. "I don't know what your uncle said, but they are the good guys here. They'll find you a nice place to live where you don't have to worry anymore."

"Why can't I just stay with you?" Harry asked. Angel sighed.

"It's not a good idea, Harry." He said gently. "I doubt they'll let me keep you. I'm not a good candidate for taking someone in." Harry just nodded, looking down and still scared. Angel couldn't possibly keep him, though. He didn't want to scare Harry with the truth either.

"I want you to tell them the truth, alright? If you do, they'll make sure you don't have to go back." Harry bit his lip for a moment but nodded.

* * *

Harry gripped Angel's hand tightly as they walked into the police station. He was terrified, remembering what his uncle had told him about cops. Angel had said they were the good guys, though.

Angel had been so nice to him. Nicer than anyone Harry had ever talked to. He had promised he wouldn't have to go back. The prospect of telling these people what happened at home was a scary one, though.

Harry wasn't stupid. He knew that not all kids were supposed to be treated like that. Dudley wasn't. He had made friends for just a little while with one of the kids down the street and he had said it wasn't supposed to be this way.

Harry hadn't understood why the older boy had gotten so angry about it at first. He had tried to convince Harry to go to the police as well, but Harry had been too scared to at the time. The other boy had told him that it wasn't right, that Uncle Vernon wasn't right.

Harry had sometimes thought that there had to be something wrong with him to make Uncle Vernon treat him like that and not Dudley, but the boy and now Angel were making him think maybe there was something wrong with Uncle Vernon instead. After all, why would Angel or the police help him otherwise?

He only half listened as Angel explained to the policeman how he'd found Harry and then he had brought Harry around to face the man. The policeman knelt in front of him as well, and Harry pressed closer to Angel out of fear but the policeman didn't look like he would hurt him. He had warm, kind eyes, just like Angel.

"Hello Harry."

* * *

Angel walked out of the room, anger raging in his heart for what he had heard in the other room. It had been suggested after some time that they get Harry some clothes that actually fit after Harry had finally fallen asleep on the couch. Angel had suggested that he go himself. He'd be back hopefully before Harry woke up and he needed to compose himself anyways.

Hopefully this would do the trick. Hopefully, Harry would never have to see the son of a bitch who called himself his uncle again. Angel couldn't just walk away yet, not until he was sure that Harry was going to be okay.

"Sorry." He mumbled absently when he bumped into an older man who was on his way inside the station. He caught a glimpse of a long white beard and strange clothes before he was out the door himself and walking down the street.

* * *

Angel looked around the station confused. The shopping bag was still in his hand. The couch were he had left Harry still sleeping was empty, though.

"Can I help you?" The same policeman who he had talked to before asked. Angel frowned.

"Where is he?" The man frowned at him.

"Who?"

"Harry. Where is Harry?"

"Harry?" The cop's frown deepened. "Sir, if your here to report something, you may do it here." Angel stepped back, staring at the man. The officer didn't recognize him, that much was obvious.

"That's okay." Angel said, unable to help the note of anger that entered his voice as he walked out of the station. He dropped the clothes he had bought for Harry back at his house before heading to Harry's uncle's house. The place was quiet.

* * *

"I need you help." Angel said, after the door had opened to another house a few streets away from Harry's.

"Again?" The woman asked, letting him inside. Angel nodded.

"I need to know what could make someone forget they had met me entirely." The woman, completely unruffled by his appearance, shrugged.

"Magic. There is a spell that could do that. Most don't use it though."

"Yeah, I got that it was magic, Daphne." He sighed, sitting down on one of the chairs in the room and told her everything that had happened that day.

"I peaked in, alright? I know Harry's back at that place. I just don't get why someone would use magic to send him back there."

"What is it that you want me to do exactly?" Angel shifted nervously.

"I need you to do that spell again. The one that makes it so I can walk in the sunlight for a time. I'm going to get him away from there again. He can't stay. Only this time, I'm not going to the cops."

"What will you do, then?" Angel shrugged.

"I don't know; maybe get him away from here. Find a place he could stay. I might have to take him out of England."

"Why don't you let him stay with you?" Angel gave her an incredulous look.

"Are you kidding? Daphne, I'm a vampire. I can't even go out in the sunlight. How am I supposed to take care of a child?"

"You would be able to protect him from whomever it is that sent him back there. And I can put a spell on him to make him untraceable for a time, so that you can get away." She tilted her head to the side for a moment thoughtfully. "Maybe the boy is a wizard himself. If that's so, you will need someone to mask his accidental magic."

"I don't know." Angel shrugged, he hadn't thought of that possibility. "I just know I need to get him away from those people." Daphne nodded.

"Are you sure you want to do this spell, Angel? You know how dangerous it is." Angel nodded. He did know how dangerous it is. The spell, a powerful one allowed him to walk in the sun without frying for a little bit. The problem was, you could never tell when it would wear off. There was a very real possibility that it could wear off while he was out.

"It's the only way I can get to him without breaking into his house in the middle of the night."

* * *

Harry was sitting outside, trying to stay out of his aunts way for the day. He didn't need any reason to make her angry. He sat in the grass outside with his knees pulled up.

He had woken up back here. He knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. He had stayed the night at Angels and woken up back here. He didn't remember when Angel had brought him back here, though.

"You alright?" Harry jumped at the voice and looked up to meet Angel's eyes. A brief flare of hope flashed through him before that was squashed. Angel had brought him back here, even after he had promised not too.

"Hi." He said anyways, not getting up. Angel knelt in front of him, and Harry thought he saw guilt flash in his eyes.

"Harry, I'm sorry." He said after a moment. "You do remember me, don't you?" Harry frowned.

"Yes."

"Good." Relief was in Angel's voice.

"Look, Harry. I know that going to the police didn't exactly work out." Harry's frown deepened. The police? "I'm sorry about that. Look, I know a way where I can get you away from here for good. A guaranteed way this time."

Harry watched him, considering. He didn't want to stay with Uncle Vernon forever, but Angel had already promised this before. When he looked into Angel's eyes, though, he actually saw the real remorse and concern there and he reached out to take Angel's hand.

* * *

"Hello, Harry." Angel had brought him to another house. An older woman knelt in front of him. "I'm Daphne."

"Nice to meet you." He said quietly, still holding onto Angel's hand. She smiled warmly at him, though.

* * *

"So?" Angel asked later after Harry had been settled into Daphne's bed later that night. She had tested him and he had eaten.

"He is definitely a wizard." She said after a moment. "Pretty powerful as well. Or he will be when he gets to the age he can use it. I will put a few spells on him so that he can be hidden."

"Good." Angel nodded. He didn't want whoever it was that had sent Harry back to that place to come after them. Angel was no wizard.

"Where will you go?" Daphne asked. Angel shrugged.

"Not sure yet. Far away from here, though." Angel looked towards the room that Harry was sleeping in. He'd keep his promise, and make sure that Harry would be okay.


	3. Daphne's decision

So, I know I haven't addressed a few important things. Like the boy who lived stuff. I meant to put it in the last chapter but didn't. It will be in this one, though.

* * *

Daphne watched the boy sleep, a small frown on her face. She had known Angel for a while now and knew how tortured he was. She also knew that he was a good man, at least now.

When Angel had come to her with the boy, she had been angry. How could someone do this to a child? It was ironic to her that people would call Angel a monster when he was the one who rescued the boy from those people.

Reaching down, she brushed some of the boy's hair off his forehead and her hand froze. She caught sight of something on his forehead that his hair had been hiding before, and she had been more focused on how skinny the boy was.

It hit her hard though. Harry. Angel had said his name was Harry. She jumped up and practically sprinted into the other room where Angel was.

"What's wrong?" He asked when he saw her, standing up from the couch.

"Harry Potter!" Angel stared at her like she was crazy.

"Yeah. That's the kid's name." Daphne put a hand over her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Angel frowned.

"What does it matter what his last name is? I still need to get him away from that house."

"You don't understand, Angel. A lot of people will be looking for that boy if he goes missing. No wonder someone came for him when you took him to the police."

"Daphne." Angel put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from pacing. "What are you talking about?"

"Angel, he is the Boy Who Lived!" Angel's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? That kid you were going on and on about a few years back? The one who defeated that dark wizard?" Daphne nodded. Angel dropped his hands. Okay, so this was a little bit of a shock. Still, he didn't see how it changed anything. Besides giving Daphne a major freak out.

"So, he's famous in your world. I still have to get him away from there. I mean, whoever's supposed to be looking out for him seems hell bent on sending to live with people who are going to hurt him."

Daphne nodded absently, and begun to pace again. She was mumbling to herself about powerful wizards and how Angel wouldn't be able to hide Harry. Angel frowned at her. He did okay on his own. After a few minutes, though, Daphne stopped, turned to him, and nodded.

"Alright. Yes. I'm coming with you." She turned and headed towards her bedroom without another word. Angel stood still for several seconds before what she said hit and he ran to her bedroom after her.

"Wait, what?" He watched as she got out a suitcase. "Why are you coming with me? And just like that?" Daphne looked up at him briefly before she began pulling clothes out of her closet.

"You won't be able to hide him yourself. A lot of powerful wizards and witches will be looking for him and you're right. We can't let him go back to that place. And, yes, just like that. That boy saved the entire wizarding world. Everyone owes him a debt."

"Daphne..."

"I can teach him myself, you know. He'll probably have to come back sooner or later, but I can home school him; teach him what he needs to know. I'll bet if we take him far enough away and I use a few spells we can hide him pretty well." Daphne looked up at him sharply just as Angel was going to interrupt again. "You are coming with us, too. We'll not be dumping him off on muggle strangers who wouldn't know the first thing about who he is and what he can do." Angel stared at her.

"You're crazy." She shrugged.

"Maybe so." She said, folding her clothes and putting them into the suitcase. "Well, you might want to help me. We will need to leave as soon as possible."

* * *

"Harry." Daphne put a hand on his shoulder. Harry opened his eyes slowly and looked up at her, rubbing the sleep out of them. "Hey, kid." Harry sat up.

"Hi." He said. He looked around and saw the bag that Daphne had next to the bed.

"Are you going somewhere?" Daphne grinned and turned to look at Angel, who was standing at the foot of the bed.

"We're going somewhere, actually." She lifted the bag. "I've already packed the clothes Angel bought you. We'll have to get more, but we can do that later."

"You mean I get to stay with you?" He asked, looking from Angel to Daphne. She nodded and Harry grinned. He jumped up on the bed and into Angel's arms. Angel caught him, surprised, but held the small boy while he hugged him, unable to help the smile that formed.

* * *

Harry was exited. He had never been more exited in his life, actually. He liked Angel a lot, and was very happy that he wouldn't have to go back to his aunt and uncle's house. Angel was nice, and he even carried Harry out of Daphne's house.

He wondered why they were leaving at night but figured it was because they didn't want his uncle to catch up to them again. He was a little scared that he would wake up there like he had before.

"Do you have a way out of here?" Angel asked after a minute.

"Of course." Daphne said. "I have been living in the muggle world for a while now. I have a car. They are quite useful. Especially since I can't apparate us without killing you."

"And from there?" Angel asked as they stepped up to Daphne's car. Harry frowned. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he didn't ask. All he knew was that they were talking about getting away from his aunt and uncle.

"Well, obviously we can't fly. We'll have to sail. We will need to figure out where to go from there, but I think right now getting out of here is enough, don't you?" Angel nodded. Harry rested his head on Angel's shoulder after they got into the car.

"You do know how to drive this, don't you?" Angel asked after a moment.  
"Of course." He heard Daphne reply before they started moving. The car did jerk a little as they got off the curb. "Sorry."

* * *

They got a hotel room just before dawn hit and Daphne put a few spells on it. She had already put some on Harry to make sure that no one would be able to find him, but it would help if they could get out of the country as well.

She didn't feel too bad about leaving. Her family had died a while ago, in the war against Voldemort, specifically. Her husband and sister had been among the casualties of the war.

After the war was over, she couldn't bring herself to stay an auror. She had secluded herself to the muggle world, preferring a place where no one knew who she was.

Daphne had met Angel only a year before Voldemort had fallen. She had been grief stricken and revenge bent at the time, Angel had been living in alleys and tormented. She thought it was only natural that they had become friends.

Meeting Angel had been the first time that she had thought of anything but taking down Voldemort since her family's death. She had even found herself trying to help him, and he had actually unintentionally helped her.

She had of course provided him a place to stay when he had shown up on her doorstep just a month ago. It had taken her a while to get that he had seen Darla and that it had shaken him. She was lucky, with how little Angel talked about his past, that she even knew who Darla was.

Angel still wasn't really alright, and even bringing up Darla's name brought back a whole host of horrible things he had done before he had gotten his soul back.

Seeing Angel with Harry was different. Angel was different. There was a light and warmth in his eyes when Harry was in the room that Daphne had rarely seen, along with the protectiveness.

She thought that they both could be good for each other. Harry was coming out of a bad home and Angel was a good person, and could protect Harry better than almost anyone.

Deciding to come with them had been easy for Daphne. For one, Harry was a cute kid and she did like Angel as well. He was sort of like a brother she had never had. He and Harry together were simply adorable and she wanted to help Angel keep him safe.

Also, she hadn't been lying when she said that she owed Harry a debt. He was the reason that Voldemort was no longer around. He not only got rid of the man that had killed Daphne's family, but he also freed her in a sense, along with Angel.

Before she met Angel, she had been so driven towards revenge; she hadn't even cared whether or not she died in the attempt. Angel had diverted her attention, and maybe showed her something to live for and Harry had freed her completely. She owed them both.

* * *

"Hungry?" Daphne asked later. Harry nodded, and she looked him over. "Well, that's no surprise. We'll need to fatten you up a little, kid."

"Where did Angel go?" Harry asked as Daphne got went to order some room service.

"Oh. Well, he eats a little differently than us." Daphne said, wincing slightly. They would definitely need to tell him about that whole vampire with a soul thing sometime soon.

"Daphne, what were you doing before? I mean, with that stick? And what did you mean, 'your world'?" Daphne sat down next to him on the bed, wondering what all she should tell him at the moment.

"Harry, do you believe in magic?" Harry frowned.

"You mean like sawing people in half and stuff? I saw this guy on TV once do that. Uncle Vernon didn't like it, he says its all garbage and I can't watch things like that." Daphne felt a little anger at that but pushed it aside.

"Actually that's not the kind of magic I'm talking about, Harry. That stuff is called illusions." She pulled out her wand. "This is real magic. You see, there are real wizards and witches out there who can do real magic." Harry's eyes widened.

"And you're one of them." She smiled at him, kneeling in front of him.

"Yes. And so are you, actually."

"I'm-" Harry shook his head. "Really?" She nodded. "Can you show me?" Daphne nodded and pointed her wand at him. Harry froze as she muttered something that he didn't quite understand. Daphne reached up and took off his glasses, showing them to him. The tape he had put on them was gone and they looked like new.

"Wow." He said, staring at her.

"Can you show me how to do that?" She grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Yes, but not until your a little older, alright." Harry pouted a little, but nodded, putting his glasses back on.

* * *

By the time Angel came back, Harry had eaten and was asleep in one of the beds. Daphne watched smiling softly as Angel pulled the covers up around Harry.

"Any thought as to where we're going?" Daphne whispered as they stepped away. Angel shook his head.

"We just need to get away from here." Angel frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe someplace stable. Some place far away so we won't have to move around so much." Daphne nodded, smiling wider at the fact that Angel was not thinking of leaving Harry anytime soon.


	4. Uncomfortable Conversations

Daphne had found a way to get them on a ship bound for North America. She and Angel had agreed to the destination for a couple of reasons, one of them being that it might be better for Harry to adjust if he lived in a place that didn't speak a language he didn't know.

Angel was still slightly paranoid about going to the states, mostly because he was sure that Darla was living there. Daphne thought it was slightly ridiculous. It was a rather large country; it wasn't likely that Darla would be jumping out at them as soon as they jumped off the ship. Still, she agreed to live in Canada for the time being rather than The United States, if only to make Angel less jumpy and paranoid.

"There are schools that teach magic?" Harry asked her. Ever since Daphne had told him about it, he had been asking questions. Not that Daphne minded much. She hadn't really talked about this in a while. Not since she had moved to the muggle world.

"Yes." She answered. "There are several. Most kids living in England go to one called Hogwarts. There are several more in other countries, of course."

"Did you go to Hogwarts?" Daphne nodded.

"Yes, I did. I graduated years ago, and became an auror." Harry frowned at her.

"What's an auror?"

"Well, you know how the police work? Catching the bad guys? That's basically what an auror is; only we catch bad wizards."

"Oh. What's pureblood mean? You said it before."

"Pureblood is a term for someone who was born into a family where both their parents are magical. Muggleborns are magical children who where born into family's with no magic at all."

"What about you?"

"I'm half and half, actually. My mother was a witch, my father was not. My sister and I were both born with magic, though." Daphne looked out at the ocean, thinking of her sister for a moment, and her parents. Her parents had died a long time ago.

"What about me?" Daphne looked back over at him. He was watching her closely now, frowning. "Aunt Petunia never told me much about my parents." Daphne sighed, not sure how much she should tell him.

"Among the purebloods, you would be considered a half blood as well, Harry. Your parents were both magical, but your mother was muggleborn. Your father was pureblood, though." Daphne hesitated for a moment. "There are prejudices that some wizards still hold to, among some of the pureblood population mostly." Harry was silent for a moment.

"Aunt Petunia said that my mum and dad died in a car crash." Daphne's gaze snapped to his and for a moment she felt burning anger towards the people that had "raised" Harry so far. Her anger faded after a moment, though, in the face of the question.

"They didn't, did they?" Daphne sighed again and knelt in front of him. She looked around first to make sure that no one was within hearing range.

"No, Harry. They didn't die in a car crash. I'm sorry. I had thought that I should wait until you were a little older to tell you this, but you deserve to know the truth, and I don't want to lie to you." Harry nodded. That was different.

"You see, Harry. Your parents were killed...by one very bad wizard." Harry's eyes widened. "I'm sorry." She repeated, reaching up to brush his hair away from the scar on his forehead. "Before you were born, a war started between the aurors and others of the wizarding community and the dark wizard and his followers. Your parent's fought against him in this war."

"So, he killed them." Daphne nodded.

"He tried to kill you as well, that is how you got the scar, Harry." Harry looked away from her for a moment, fighting back tears. Daphne surprised him when she pulled him forward into a tight hug. He buried his head in her shoulder for a moment. When he finally pulled back she smiled a little at him.

"Why isn't Angel out here as well?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Well, Angel's more of a night person." She answered, shrugging.

* * *

Harry may have been young but he did notice the way that Angel refused to come out on the deck when the sun was out. He noticed the way that Angel skirted around the places where the sun did hit below.

He didn't know what was wrong. Something had to be wrong with him, though. Daphne had said that he ate differently and he never went out in the sun. He had told Harry that he couldn't keep him at first. He finally decided to just ask Angel.

"Angel, are you sick?" Harry had found him down below, sitting on the couch in their room. Angel frowned at him.

"What gave you that idea?" Harry shrugged.

"Well, Daphne said that you don't eat like us, and you said that you couldn't keep me at first, and you don't go out on deck." Angel sighed and looked slightly nervous all the sudden, making Harry just a little bit scared. Maybe he was sick.

"I'm not sick, buddy." Angel said after a moment. "In fact, I think that it's pretty much impossible for me to get sick."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, and Angel hesitated for a moment, not sure how to say this. This was why he had thought this whole thing was a bad idea. He didn't want to freak Harry out, but if he didn't tell him, the kid would more than likely find out on his own, and that was worse.

There was only so long you could hide the fact that you couldn't go out in the sun and had to drink blood to survive. Even if he hadn't killed a human since he got his soul back. Plus he didn't want the kid worrying that he was sick when he wasn't.

"Harry...Um, okay," He turned to Harry on the couch, "do you know what a vampire is?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "once, when I was younger, I saw part of this movie Dudley was watching. It had vampires on it. There were lots of those kinds of movies." Harry thought about that for a moment, and then he looked up at Angel, his eyes widening.

"So, you're a-" He cut off, but Angel nodded. "But you don't look different. I mean, I thought vampires had fangs and stuff."

"I do, actually. I can just hide them." Harry watched him for a moment.

"Can you show me?" Angel hesitated again before figuring it would be best to get this out in the open now, and his face changed. Harry's eyes widened further and he suddenly reached out, touching Angel's changed forehead until his face smoothed out again.

"So, you're a vampire." Angel nodded again, and so did Harry. "Okay." Angel blinked.

"Okay, that's it?" Harry shrugged. "This doesn't freak you out? You don't have questions?" Harry frowned.

"But you're still good, right? And I still get to live with you? I've seen those movies. There were some good vampires in them. There was even one where one vampire fought others. Hey, are you stronger than other people? How old are you?" Angel stared at the kid for a moment.

* * *

"So, he just accepted that you were a vampire like that, and a good one." Daphne said after Harry had gone to sleep. She and Angel were outside. Angel was leaning on the railing of the ship.

"Yeah." Angel said, surprise still in his voice. "He didn't even seem to mind. I thought I was going to freak the kid out." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"He likes you. You're nice to him, and he's six, Angel. Children are impressionable. They believe in things like the monster in their closet or superheroes. I think that to him, you being a vampire doesn't change the fact that you're nice and took him away from those people." Angel sighed, looking out at the water and the night sky. They would be reaching their destination soon.

* * *

They got a motel room first, and Daphne immediately started making plans for a more permanent home, and on making sure they weren't found or investigated.

It was actually relatively easy to fake the muggle documents that declared Harry Blackburn the son of Daphne Blackburn. She had left Angel's name out of the document just in case something happened that exposed the documents. She really couldn't have them calling on Angel during the day or dragging him away.

It was really not that hard to declare, at least in the muggle world, that she was his legal guardian. Well, it wasn't that hard with a little persuasion, and a few spells to conjure up the fake documents.

The wizarding world, however, was a whole different story. There was no way that she could really declare herself his guardian in that world. He would just be taken away, which is why they would have to live in the muggle world, and she would have to keep up the protection spells to keep them from being found.

All in all, though, Daphne thought that they would do okay. She would have to get a job, teaching preferably. She had done that some in England. She was sure she could get a job here in Canada doing the same.

Angel and Harry were settling in. She couldn't help but to smile at the way they were together. After everything Harry had been told, he was full of questions. She was more than happy to answer his questions about magic.

Angel had been so worried about telling Harry about what he was exactly, but Harry was more interested in how strong Angel really was. He seemed to think the things Angel could do were cool, prompting Angel to lecture him about the fact that not all vampires were like him. Angel seemed a little scared that Harry might think that any other vampires that he could potentially meet were going to be as nice as Angel, but Daphne thought that, even though he was only a child, he was smarter than that.

Angel had always been tortured and his eyes before had held such guilt and sadness for the things he had done in the past, but Daphne saw all of that wash away when he looked at Harry. She saw him truly smile when Harry talked to him. They would definitely be okay, as long as she could keep something else from interfering.

I know this chapter was shorter than my last one, sorry. This is my transition chapter of sorts. Got to get them settled somewhere and I had to have them tell Harry the truth about everything. I've already got the next chapter planned out, so it should be out soon.


	5. Welcome to the Hellmouth

So, after a conversation I had with one of my reviewers, Lady Avarice, I decided on the direction that I'm going to take this story. I've also decided on a pairing, but it won't come into play for a while. I did actually take a few suggestions from another reviewer, pottersparky as well.

I am extremely nervous about this chapter. I'm taking this story in a completely different direction than I originally intended. Hope you guys like this.

* * *

Harry stopped in the entrance of the place, looking around idly. The place was packed, of course. It was mostly occupied at the moment by the high school students of this town. Harry _had _heard, from several people that this was the only decent place to hang out in here.

He walked over to the bar and ordered a coke, watching the other kids as they danced and talked. He didn't really like this place much, at least not so far, and he definitely didn't like the reason they had come here.

Harry had hoped that Daphne would shoot down the idea, and she had, at least at first. Then she had declared that coming here would actually be a good thing. There was so much magic and so many supernatural things in this town that Daphne thought it would make it impossible for anyone to track Harry down here.

Harry thought they had been doing just fine before. Daphne had spells not only on the place they lived but on him as well. He had grown his hair out some, and with a bit of gel it didn't lie flat but it did cover his scar. He had also gotten contacts that not only did away with is glasses but also changed his eye color from green to dark blue, the same as Daphne's.

It was amazing what a few small changes could do. Harry thought he was well protected already. They could have stayed in Boston. That damn demon had gotten to Angel and now here they were, in Sunnydale, California.

It wasn't like Angel knew why Harry hadn't wanted to leave Boston. He hadn't told Angel the real reason, but the way he figured it shouldn't matter. They had still just left.

They had been in Boston since Harry was eight. Harry learned, after a few years, that the reason that Daphne had rushed them out of their home in Canada was that she had a close call with the authorities there.

Harry knew that his guardianship wasn't the question. In the eyes of the muggle law, Harry was Daphne's son. The problem had been citizenship. Daphne had been sure to fix that problem when they had made it to the states.

Harry looked up, brought out of his thoughts for a moment when a girl came up next to him to order a drink. She was redheaded, and he had seen her talking to the other one before.

"Hi." He said, turning fully to her and smiling a little.

"Um, hi." She said looking surprised for a moment. He reached out hand.

"I'm Harry." She looked down for a moment before taking his hand.

"Willow." She said. He smiled wider at her and watched as she pulled her hand back and blushed.

"So, you go to school here?" He asked after a moment. She nodded, fiddling with the straw in her drink when she got it.

"You don't, do you?" She asked. "I mean...I've never seen you before..." Harry shook his head.

"Just moved here, actually. I guess I will be soon enough..." Harry trailed off when he caught sight of someone over Willow's shoulder. He nearly groaned out loud.

"That's good." She said quietly. She was still blushing, but Harry barely noticed. He stood up abruptly from his stool.

"Guess I'll see you in school then?" He asked distractedly as he walked past her.

"Yeah...Yeah, see you."

* * *

Willow sighed as she watched the boy go. She had been determined to take Buffy's advice but she was still surprised when the boy had started talking to her. He was cute, she had to admit, but he hadn't stayed long.

She sighed, stirring her drink, staring after him for a moment. His interest sure hadn't stayed on her long. She forced a smile on her face when another boy stepped up beside her at the bar. Maybe she still could take Buffy's advice.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Angel asked as soon as Harry reached the corner of the club, where, as Harry saw it, Angel was hiding. "Does Daphne know you're here?"

"Here? In town. Yes, she knows. Does she know you're here stalking teenage girls?" Angel glared at him.

"I'm not stalking anyone." He said. "You shouldn't be here, though. It's dangerous right now." Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'm fifteen, not six. Which means I can take care of myself and I am allowed to talk to fifteen year old girls. You, on the other hand..." Harry raised an eyebrow and looked around the place. He found who he was looking for, up above talking to an older man. He watched her for a moment before turning back to Angel.

"Seriously. She's what? Two hundred years younger than you?"

"I'm just trying to help her on her mission."

"Right." Harry scoffed. "Hey, why would it be creepy if some forty year old dude decided to hit on her, but it's supposedly not that you're stalking her?"

"I'm not stalking anyone." Angel repeated, anger in his voice, although he was watching the girl now. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I believe you." Harry started out but Angel put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh, home?" Angel shook his head.

"Not alone, you're not." Harry scowled at him.

"I'm really not six anymore." Harry sighed as they both started out of the club. "Don't you need to stay behind and pine for underage girls?" Angel growled at him and pushed him ahead, through the door.

"This town is dangerous at night right now, with what's going on. You shouldn't be out here alone."

"You know, I can't figure out which is weirder. The fact that you have a thing for a teenager or that the teenager you have a thing for is a vampire slayer." Harry continued on like he hadn't heard what Angel had said.

"I do not have a thing for her." Angel said louder, in exasperation.

"Uh huh."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Daphne asked as soon as they got back to the apartment.

"Just exploring." Harry shrugged, going into the kitchen to find something to eat.

"Exploring? Harry, you know about this place."

"You're the one who dragged me here." He heard Daphne sigh as he rummaged through the fridge.

"Did you want me to let her die?" Angel asked. "Helping her will help everyone." Harry straightened up with a coke in hand and closed the door.

"We came here because you have a crush on a girl who was born after your two hundredth birthday."

"Harry..." Daphne started. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Look, it's late. You're starting school tomorrow."

"Yeah. I'm going to a school on top of a Hellmouth. This place is _so _much safer than Boston."

* * *

Daphne watched Harry leave the room and sighed again, sitting at the table. He was not too happy about the move. She had more than one reason for moving out of Boston, though.

She had been slightly worried about Harry the last few years. He had gotten into some trouble while they were living in Boston, trouble that they couldn't afford. They couldn't draw attention to themselves.

At first, everything had been fine. Harry had always been a good kid, but he had met and made friends with a few others in Boston who weren't, in her opinion, the best influence on him.

Daphne was not too sure about coming here, though. She knew that Angel wanted to help but she didn't know if this was a good place for Harry. What she had told Harry was true, though. Here, it would be next to impossible for anyone from the wizarding world to find them.

Daphne had been keeping tabs on the wizarding world every now and then. Discretely, of course and she was beginning to get worried that some people had not given up on finding Harry.

She had been teaching Harry magic ever since he was old enough and he was good, and powerful. She knew that he could take care of himself. Angel had even shown him a little bit on how to fight. She hoped that coming here was the right decision.

* * *

Harry walked towards the library. He wasn't in the greatest mood. Daphne had fussed endlessly over him that morning. He didn't have to see inside her head to know what she was thinking.

He had told her countless times that it wasn't what she had thought it was, but she didn't believe him. Then again, how could she? He hadn't told her the complete truth, and she could always tell when he was lying to her.

He didn't tell her everything for two reasons. One, he had promised he wouldn't. Two, he had been a little afraid that Daphne would freak and move them as far away from Boston as possible. That had happened anyway, but he had still promised.

He pushed those thoughts out of his head as he came to the door to the library. He started to push it open when he heard voices coming from inside. Grinning, he kept it slightly open and listened for a moment.

"Oh, I...I need to sit down." He heard a girl mutter. He thought it sounded like that Willow girl he had met at the club.

"You are sitting down." Another girl said this one he didn't recognize.

"Oh. Good for me."

"So vampires are demons?" A boy's voice asked. A man with a British accent answered.

"The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding... Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return."

Silence followed that, and Harry decided to make his presence known. Harry pushed the door open all the way and stepped inside. Four heads snapped up. Harry had the urge to tell them they should probably keep their voices down in the future.

"Wow." He said instead. "This town must really be small."

"Huh?" The blonde frowned at him.

"I mean if this is the cool place to hang out."

"Oh! Well, we just...really like books, you know?"

"You needed something?" The older guy asked.

"Yeah, I'm new, actually." The man nodded.

"Yes. One moment, I'll get what you need."

"Thanks." Harry said, turning back to the other three.

"You're Harry, right?" Willow asked, standing up. "I'm Willow. We met at The Bronze."

"Yeah, I remember." Willow smiled.

"Um, these are my friends. That's Buffy and Xander." Harry waved at them. "So, how do you like it here so far?"

"Don't know." Harry shrugged. "Haven't been here long enough to find out." He glanced around the library. "This place is...interesting." Xander snorted, but shrugged and kept silent when Harry raised an eyebrow at him. A moment later, the librarian came out, carrying some books. Harry started out with them, but turned back when he was almost at the door.

"Oh, hey. You might want to be a little more careful about letting people overhear your conversations." He took a moment to see the looks on their faces before he grinned and walked out the door.

Angel and Daphne weren't going to be too happy about that, but he couldn't help himself. If he was going to have to live in this town, he might as well have some fun.

* * *

Buffy stood still for only a moment after the boy had left. And then she exchanged a glance with Giles. She considered going after him, but she had a bigger problem.

"Are you...?" She shook her head.

"Later. After we've found Jesse."

* * *

"How was school?" Angel asked as he walked into the apartment. Harry shrugged, not stopping on his way to his room.

"Met your girlfriend." He grinned when Angel glared at him and went to his room.

* * *

Whatever had happened, he figured that Buffy and her friends had stopped it. Considering that the town was still relatively normal the next day. Well, as normal as it could be. Angel had been gone for a lot of the night.

He wondered what Angel would have done if he had gotten involved in this whole thing. Probably would have killed Harry himself. He lay back on the grass outside with his eyes closed. The next time that he opened them, Buffy was standing over him.

"Hey." He said, grinning at her and sitting up as she, Xander, and Willow sat down.

"Okay, so spill." Buffy said, crossing her arms.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb." She glared at him.

"You know, this is really a bad play. I mean, what if I hadn't heard anything and it was all a bluff? Then you come stomping over here and just confirm the fact that there _was_ something to overhear."

"I do not _stomp._ And don't be a smartass. You've knew about this stuff before. Anyone else would either think we were crazy or be freaking out."

"Fine." Harry held up his hands in surrender. "I knew about this stuff before. Happy?"

"How?" Harry shrugged.

"My father had a sort of run-in with this kind of thing." Harry stood up. "So! You guys doing anything tonight?"

"What?" Willow asked, standing up as well. He looked at her.

"Well, we are friends."

"We are?"

"Yes. Why?" He pouted at her. "You don't want to be my friend?" She shook her head.

"Oh, no...No, that's not what I-"

"Great!" Harry cut her off. He slung his bag over his shoulder. "See you guys later, then."

* * *

"How was school?" Harry grinned brightly at Angel.

"I made friends with your girlfriend." Harry laughed at the look on Angels face on the way back to his room.

* * *

Harry lay on his bed that night with a piece of paper and a pen. He actually wasn't sure if he would get any responses on the letters he was going to send, but he would send them anyways.

Leaving her alone was just not an option, and if he couldn't be there, he could at least let her know where he was. He was angry at both Angel and Daphne for dragging him here, for forcing him to leave her alone.

They didn't know, though. They didn't know about any of it. He figured that he shouldn't really be angry with them, but he was worried. He was worried about the only real friend that he had had in Boston.

Sighing, he started on the letter, set to tell her _everything _that had happened in the past couple of days. If anyone deserved to know, it was her.


	6. A Different Kind of Witch

"Yeah, well. At least you're not teaching at my school." Harry said as he poured himself some cereal.

"Only because they didn't have any positions open at the moment." Harry frowned.

"I don't know why. This town is on top of a Hellmouth. I bet this town tops the list on number of deaths per capita." Daphne scowled a little.

"Which is why you need to be careful. You have your wand with you?"

"Yes." He said, starting away to get his bag.

"Good. And I don't want you getting involved with anything that girl and her friends get into."

"I know. We go through this every day, Daphne. I haven't gone out to fight vampires with her yet."

"It's been quiet. It won't always be."

"Yeah." Harry picked up his bag and started out the door. Daphne stopped him there and hugged him briefly.

"Just be careful."

* * *

"You're trying out for cheerleading?" Harry asked as he walked beside Buffy and Willow. Buffy was already in the outfit.

"Why not?" She asked, shrugging. "I was in cheerleading before."

"Yeah, but wasn't that before you were...what you are now?" Buffy rolled his eyes.

"You sound like Giles." Harry gave her a horrified look.

"I do _not _sound like Giles." He shook his head. Buffy grinned at him and bounced ahead.

"Well, you definitely got the attitude down." She turned back to him as they reached the gym.

"What do you got against cheerleaders anyways?"

"I don't have anything against cheerleaders," Harry followed her into the gym, looking around.

"Sure." Buffy walked over to Xander, who was already sitting in the bleachers. Harry rolled his eyes a little when Xander turned his gaze to Buffy. He glanced over at Willow for a moment and shook his head.

Willow had a crush on Xander, Xander had a crush on Buffy, and Buffy and Angel had...something. He wasn't sure what exactly. He knew that they hadn't seen each other since Buffy had stopped that Harvest thing.

It seemed even weirder to him that Angel had a thing for Buffy when she was trying out to be a cheerleader. He wasn't sure why on that one either.

Buffy and her friends were seen as outcasts now by almost the entire school now. Harry was too, just by association. He didn't mind, though. He'd been seen that way back in Boston. He really didn't have anything against cheerleaders in general, but the ones he had met in his old school weren't exactly nice. Course, most of the people in his old school weren't nice.

Harry watched a few of the cheerleaders try out and was of course surprised when the tryouts ended with one of the girls literally catching on fire.

* * *

Harry pulled his bag off and opened it, getting out the book he'd taken from the library when Giles wasn't looking. The book was supposed to be full of information on witches. These kinds of witches, actually.

He still couldn't quite believe that there was a witch running around Sunnydale High taking out cheerleaders. Apparently, according to Giles, it was a different kind of witch all together than what Daphne was.

He was most interested in the fact that these ones didn't seem to need a wand to cast spells. Harry had gotten his own wand from a less than reputable source. Daphne had said that it was better to do it the right way and get one more suited to him, but they couldn't risk going somewhere like Diagon Alley.

Harry made due. It wasn't as if he had to fight off any wizards, anyways. But this was different. The fact that someone had set a person on fire using magic without a wand was impressive and disturbing.

Harry liked to be prepared. He was well aware that if someone from the wizarding world caught up to them that he would most likely never see Angel or Daphne again, and that was not an option.

He may have been angry at the both of them at the moment, but that did not mean he wanted to be taken away from either of them. As far as he was concerned, Angel and Daphne were his parents.

Harry lay back on his bed, and opened the book. At least it was something to keep his mind off the fact that he hadn't gotten a reply back to the letter he had sent to Boston.

_"They don't even notice." Harry said, shaking his head, and looking over at his friend. She looked at him like he was crazy. _

_"Of course they don't notice. This school sucks. Why are you stating the obvious, anyways? We've been going here long enough." Harry shrugged. _

_"Why? Am I annoying you?" He asked as they rounded the corner, heading away from the school. _

_"Yes." Harry nodded. _

_"Then that's why." She scowled at him and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She offered him one, but he declined like always. Angel would know if he had been smoking. _

_"So, what exactly does this mean?" He asked as they sat down in the park. She shrugged. _

_"Got me. It's not like I can actually do anything." He watched her as she laid back and pulled out the small blade that she liked to carry around. She twirled it idly between her fingers. It was smart. This place wasn't exactly safe. _

_"I really don't think you need super strength." She grinned at him and slapped his chest._

_"Aw, thanks, H." Harry rolled his eyes at her. _

_"You know, Faith that nickname sucks. I'd think you'd be more original." _

_"Hm. Okay, how 'bout Jamie? Harriet? Ass?" _

_"Bitch." Harry returned, scowling at her. "I'll stick with H, thanks." _

_"No, you were right. I think I'll go with a new one." Harry rolled over until he was on top of her. He wrestled the knife away from her and put it aside and pinned her arms above her head. _

_"Aha! Haven't gotten that super strength yet, have you, Xena?" She just grinned at him, and rolled her hips to the side, throwing him off her. She continued the roll until she was on top of him. _

_"I win." She gripped his shirt and pulled him close to her. "Don't call me Xena." _

_"Why not? You're into the whole feminine, fighting, girls kick ass and guys suck-" She cut him off before he could finish that thought with a kiss. He lifted up slightly and pulled her closer. They were interrupted, however, when Harry's cell phone rang. Daphne had insisted he keep the damn thing with him at all times. _

_He reached down and pulled the phone out of his pocket, breaking the kiss long enough to look at the caller id. He cursed and banged his head off the ground when he saw it. _

_"Daphne." He said. There was a sigh and she got off him, lying down beside him again. She reached over and took his arm, looking at his watch. _

_"And only fifteen minutes after we ditched, too. I think that's a new record." Harry laughed a little. _

_"You know she's going to chew my ass out for this." _

_"Doesn't she always?" _

_

* * *

_

_"I need to get out." Faith said. Her voice was calm, but Harry could see how distressed she was in her eyes. Harry looked up and closed his locker door. He frowned at her. _

_"What's going on?" She shrugged, and wrapped her arms around herself. _

_"Nothin'. I just...can't stay here all day. You know how much I hate school." Harry nodded. He hesitated for a moment. Daphne would kill him if she found out he had cut again. _

_When he looked Faith over, though, and caught sight of the faint bruises on her upper arms, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and started out with her. _

_"Where did you want to go?" _

* * *

_"What are you thinking?!" Daphne paced in the kitchen. "Do you want to draw attention to yourself? Do you want them to find us?" Harry stood up, staring at her. _

_"How would they find us? Daphne, the teachers don't even notice." She turned to him, crossing her arms. _

_"This is why we're leaving." Harry scoffed and shook his head. _

_"No. This is not why we're leaving. If this were the only reason we were leaving, we wouldn't be heading to the Hellmouth." Daphne sighed. _

_"Go pack your things." She said, rubbing a hand across her face. Harry hesitated, for just a moment considering telling her the truth, but he had promised. He knew that Daphne thought he was getting into a lot of things that he wasn't. She had only met Faith a couple of times and Harry knew what she thought of the girl. _

_

* * *

_

_"Apparently you're corrupting me." Harry shrugged._

"I can live with that." She said, grabbing his hand and dragging him into the small club. Faith had got it into her head to come here. He had been trying to talk to her but she wasn't really listening to him at the moment.

_  
This particular club was in the shadier part of the city and didn't really look too closely at a person's id. At fifteen, Faith did look older than she was, though. _

_"Yeah, well. Arguing with a vampire on bad influences in my youth is kinda weird."  
_

_"I'm sure." Faith said distractedly as she pulled him towards the middle of the room to dance. _

_"Faith, there's something I need to tell you." _

_  
"What?" She practically yelled as they got closer to the stage where the music was playing. _

_"I'm leaving." He blurted it out, staring at her. She looked over at him. _

_"What?" She repeated. He stepped closer to her, nervous now. _

_"I'm leaving!" He repeated louder. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes guarded. _

_"I'm sorry." He said. "It's them. They want to-"_

"Come on, H. Dance with me." Harry blinked.

_"What?" She rolled her eyes, and pulled him closer by the shirt. _

_"Faith, did you hear what I said?" She nodded. _

_"I heard. Are you gonna dance or what?" _

* * *

Faith refused to talk about it after that. Every time Harry tried to bring it up, she would change the subject. She didn't seem angry but she still didn't talk about it. She kissed him before he left. That was the last he heard from her.

Now, she wasn't answering his letters. He guessed she might just want a clean break. After all, it wasn't like they would be able to see each other anytime soon. Still, he was worried. Faith didn't exactly have the best home life.

Hesitating for a moment, he brought out a new piece of paper and began writing again. Maybe if he kept writing her, she would at least know he wasn't abandoning her.

* * *

"What the hell's going on?" Harry asked as he entered the library, looking from one to the other. Buffy was slouched low in one of the chairs, a cloth on her forehead.

"The witch has struck again." She said, getting up with the help of Xander and Willow. "Giles and I are going to talk to Amy's mother. Willow and Xander are going to keep an eye on her." Harry nodded as he watched her leave and he turned back to Xander and Willow.

"So? Where is she?"

* * *

Harry gripped his wand, and skidded around the corner. Xander and Willow were nowhere in sight but Amy was stalking towards Giles and Buffy. Harry ducked out of sight for a moment. When he heard her get closer, he darted out and cast the first spell that came to mind.

"_Incarcerous._" He stayed and watched for a moment as ropes bound her before sprinting in the opposite direction. He couldn't hurt the girl, not technically. Not wasting time, he unlocked the room with his wand and darted inside, locking it back.

"What the hell?" He said as he walked up to the table that Buffy was lying on. He glanced at the woman standing beside Giles.

"Uh, Harry meet Amy. Now, I need to concentrate." Harry's eyes widened as he took the woman in again.

"You might want to hurry." He said. The woman jumped. Apparently, Amy, or whoever it was, had found an axe. Harry stood close to the door, wand out and waiting. He was so focused on the door that he didn't notice when Giles finished the spell, and before he could do anything, he was hit over the side of the head with something.

Harry rolled through it. Before he knew it, Buffy and Giles were both down and the woman had the axe this time. Harry scrambled over to Buffy, who was already getting up. She grinned and walked up behind the woman.

"Guess what?" The woman turned. "I feel better!" Harry grinned as Buffy punched the bitch and she flew into the shelves. The woman was up fast, though and then Buffy was flying into the opposite wall. Harry ran over to her, helping her up as the witch began casting a new spell.

"Behind me." Harry said, bringing up his wand.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked. Harry grinned briefly at her, holding her back. He waited until she was almost finished with the spell. He grinned and cast one of the easiest spells he had learned, pointing it up at the ropes above his head.

"_Diffindo_," the mirror being held in place fell down and her spell hit it instead of them. He watched as it was reflected back on her. He held up a hand at the whirlwind that surrounded her and she disappeared. He turned to Buffy, who was staring at him in shock now.

"What?" He put his wand away. When she only crossed her arms, he sighed. "Alright, fine. I'm a wizard. Happy?"

"What?"

"We should really help Giles, don't you think?" He ignored her protests and made his way to where Giles was lying unconscious on the floor.

* * *

"This is astounding." Giles said later while they were gathered in the library. "So, there are more like you?" Harry shrugged.

"My mom's a witch. I mean a different kind of witch than the one that just tried to kill us."

"I mean, there is a whole different world of you, isn't there? I have never heard anything like it."

"Giles," Buffy interrupted, "We're getting off the point aren't we? I mean, how do we know you won't go the way of Catherine the Insane?" Harry shrugged.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I've been a wizard since I was born. I think it would have happened by now." He clapped his hands together and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Alright. If you'll excuse me, I've got to go home before Daphne decides to send out a search party."

"Harry..." He waved a hand at Buffy.

"I'll talk to you guys later." He walked out of the school. He definitely would not be telling Daphne what had happened today.


	7. Cutting Ties

I'm going to try and get bits of each episode from the first season in this story. I've got this story planned out pretty much so far. Some people have been asking about what's going doing something about what's going on in the wizarding world, so I might do a chapter soon on that. So, I'm up to the third episode, I guess. I'm not rewriting the entire thing, just bits of it.

* * *

Harry watched in amusement as Xander put his arms around Buffy and Willow, trying to impress a couple of the boys at the bar. He stayed back for a moment, until Buffy spoke up.

"I don't believe it." Harry followed her line of sight and watched as she walked over. He groaned as she stopped in front of Angel. Following Xander and Willow as they sat down, he kept one eye on the pair.

"Well, he's buff! She never said anything about him being buff!" Harry choked and looked over at Xander.

"You think he's buff?" Willow asked.

"He's a very attractive man! How come _that_ never came up?" Harry rolled his eyes, and looked back over in time to watch Angel put his jacket around Buffy's shoulders. He frowned, though, when he saw Angel's arms.

* * *

"What the hell happened to you?" Harry asked as soon as Angel came home that night. Angel frowned at him.

"It's three in the morning, why are you awake?" He crossed his arms.

"This isn't about me." He said, watching Angel. "So, is this how it works? You go after the stuff and then warn Buffy about it?"

"That's not exactly what happened," Angel headed to the kitchen with Harry following him.

"After all the lectures you guys have been giving me about not doing that."

"You're fifteen," Angel pointed out, "and not the slayer." Angel held up a hand when Harry opened his mouth again, "and yes, you are a wizard. But you know you shouldn't use magic unless it's a last resort."

"Okay, but why do _you _have to go after these things? I mean, I know you're in love with Buffy-"

"I'm not in love with Buffy."

"But you don't have to go after trouble," Harry continued as if Angel hadn't spoken.

"I'm not going after trouble. It finds me. What do you want me to do? Not fight back? Not warn Buffy that there's something after her?" Harry sighed and then pouted a little.

"Fine. Just...don't be a hero or something." He left the room after that, and threw himself on his bed. Okay, so he was worried. But, come on, Sunnydale was dangerous enough without going out and looking for trouble.

* * *

Harry felt like crap the next morning. He hadn't really slept, but he had at least forgiven Daphne and Angel for moving them away so quickly. The thought that something could happen to Angel while he was helping Buffy was what did that. However, that changed when he went to get the mail.

There was one envelope addressed to him. There wasn't a return address but Harry recognized Faith's writing immediately. When he opened it up and looked inside, he sighed, and pulled the contents out.

There was no letter, only a small, black bracelet that he had given Faith on her last birthday. He had been happy that it used to be the only piece of jewelry that Faith ever wore. Even if she said that it was only because it was black and matched her pants.

Now, he stared at the bracelet. He knew Faith pretty well, and had known this was a big possibility. He shouldn't be so surprised that she wanted to cut ties with him completely. It's what she did with pretty much everyone.

Still, he had to admit it hurt, and worried him. He liked Faith a great deal, maybe even loved her, but she wasn't exactly the most stable person at times. She had a temper on her that he had seen on several occasions.

Even if it would help her defend herself, he was slightly relieved that she wasn't the slayer. She could defend herself pretty well without that power and she would only become so if Buffy died, and she had a whole mess of people that wouldn't allow that to happen, including Angel and him. Not to mention that he had learned that Faith wasn't the only potential in the world, it could go to any one of them.

It wasn't that he didn't believe that Faith was a good person at heart but she had some more than violent tendencies, and he worried about how she would do now that she was on her own in Boston.

It all came down to how she was raised, or wasn't, he guessed. He had never really thought about that kind of stuff himself, not until he had been friends with her for a while.

Faith's dad had ditched her and her mother when she was very young and her mom had taken up drinking. So, it wasn't like she had a stable home life.

Sighing, Harry went back into the apartment to get ready for school, and tried not to think about Faith.

* * *

"What's going on?" He asked, walking up outside of school and sitting next to Willow. He looked from Buffy's worried expression to Xander who was currently staring towards the school and had the same vacant, drooling expression Harry had started to refer to as his "Buffy face".

"Dr. Gregory's missing." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Missing as in…?" Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe. Giles said he'd look into it. Plus there's Angel ominous warning of the week." Harry nodded, and gestured to Xander.

"What's up with him?"

"New teacher." Willow said, shaking her head.

"Oh. Young, pretty, not wearing clothes technically appropriate for her profession?" Willow smiled.

"Well, actually, she wasn't dressed that bad. But the rest? Yes."

* * *

"Angel!" Harry's head shot up and he stared at Buffy. "He warned me something was coming." Harry squirmed a little in guilt as he listened to the others and he suddenly got up.

"Where are you going?" Xander asked. He turned to them, shifting a little.

"I've got to do something." He said rather vaguely. "I'll see you guys later." Harry sighed a little as he started out. They'd probably just think he was freaked out after what happened, which was fine with him. He still felt guilty for the lie though.

* * *

Angel looked up when Harry walked into the house and proceeded to throw his book bag on the table.

"What are you doing home so early?"

"I came to talk to you about Buffy, and the little meeting you had with her last night." Angel's eyes widened and he put the book he'd been reading down.

"Did she find it?" Harry shook his head, and sat down across from Angel.

"No, but we did find the body of the science teacher stuffed in the fridge of the cafeteria." Angel frowned.

"The science teacher? Harry, you're not getting involved in this too much are you? You know Daphne will kill you for it." Harry scowled at him.

"That's not the point. The point is that Buffy's really upset. Apparently she liked this guy a lot." He held up his hands when Angel opened his mouth again. "Look, how about I just tell Buffy?" Angel sighed after a moment.

"How did he die?" Harry grimaced.

"Well, I said we found his body…Just not his head." Angel frowned again.

"That's not how he kills." Harry groaned at that.

"Great." He abruptly got up, though, and picked up his bag. "Thanks, though. I'll see you later."

"Just no going after this thing!" Angel called as he went out the door again.

* * *

"So, wait. You already know it's not the claw vampire guy or whatever?" Harry asked Buffy the next morning, sitting across from her in the library.

"Yep." Harry stared at her.

"And you think it's the substitute." She nodded. "Right."

"Yeah," she checked her watch, "which means I've got to get to class." Harry watched her go.

"Right."

* * *

"So, the substitute teacher is a giant bug." Harry asked, keeping pace with Buffy as they searched for the right house.

"Yep."

"A giant bug who has Xander and wants to…." He didn't finish, but made a noise of disgust.

"Yep." She paused, "this is it." Harry watched her for a moment before following.

"Alright." He said, getting out his wand just in case.

* * *

If he'd had time to think about it, he would have thought that it didn't get any weirder than fighting off a giant praying mantis alongside a vampire slayer and her watcher. Well, if he'd had time to think about it, he might have reflected on the fact that Daphne and Angel would both kill him if they found out about this.

He dove out of the way when Giles little plan with the tape recorder and bat sonar finally panned out and the _thing _that was supposed to be a teacher went off balance. Not thinking, Harry leapt up and blasted off the first spell that came to mind.

"_Confringo!" _He watched, rather horrified, as the spell hit and blew apart part of the things torso. He had been a little bit too close when he cast it and got sprayed a bit. Buffy stared at him for a moment before lifting her machete and finishing the job.

* * *

"Ugh." Harry wiped at the disgusting bits of mantis that clung to his clothes and skin.

"What sort of spell was that?" Giles asked after a moment. "It was rather impressive." Harry shrugged.

"I've never really practiced it before. It's a little bit above my grade. I just read about it mostly. I figured since I was so close that it might work though. Probably couldn't hit something from farther away with it yet." He shrugged, and looked down at himself. "Now I've got to find a way to get in the house and get cleaned up without Daphne seeing me."

"Maybe you shouldn't be coming on any more of these things." Buffy suggested. Harry shrugged.

"Naw, it's okay. I can handle it." Truth was he liked the distraction. Plus, he also liked being close when Buffy went out on these sorts of things. It wasn't that he didn't think she could take care of herself, but they were friends. And, no matter what Angel said, he knew the way he felt about Buffy. Sitting back and doing nothing also didn't sit well with him.

"I'll see you guys later. That is, if Daphne doesn't kill me first." He waved at them and started home.

* * *

Harry managed to sneak into his room without seeing either Daphne or Angel. He took a shower and put the ruined clothes in a bag so he could throw them out later.

Sighing, Harry lay back on his bed. Turning his head, he reached over and picked up the black bracelet from the nightstand. He turned it over in hands, wondering if he would ever see Faith again.

* * *

When Harry came home from school the next day, he knew that he was busted. Daphne was sitting at the table in the kitchen with the bag on it. He hadn't had a chance to throw them out yet. She was looking angrier than he had seen her in a long time.

"You want to explain this?" She asked, standing when he approached. "You've been going out with Buffy haven't you? Even after you promised." Harry, who might have felt a little guilt, felt anger bubble up as well. He hadn't slept at all the night before, to busy worried about Faith and what her sending that bracelet back to him meant.

"Yes, I have." He said it calmly, trying not to snap at her. She was his mother, really, in every way that mattered.

"I told you not to do that." She didn't raise her voice either, but he could hear the anger, and disappointment, "even if you forget the danger that you're in, you know what will happen if you draw attention to yourself."

"I'm not drawing attention to myself, though. I mean, the slayer is secret, Daphne. It's not like she broadcasts what she does."

"Oh, and so no body knows? This is Boston all over again. You never listened to me there, why should you listen to me here?" Harry stiffened at that, and his eyes narrowed. The lid he'd been trying to keep on his temper about this subject was blown off.

"What did you expect me to do here, Daphne? You and Angel drag me here against my will. I make friends. What do you expect me to do? Not help them? As for Boston, you keep bringing that up, over and over again. I cut classes, got into a few fights. Are you going to keep bringing this up until I'm eighteen?"

"Maybe I'd stop if you showed a little more maturity. You know what will happen if you draw attention-"

"I know! And, maturity? You have got to be kidding me! I have never fought anyone who didn't deserve it. I never cut class for anything less than an extremely good reason. You never believed that."

"Maybe because you never told me this very good reason." Harry clenched his jaw and made an effort to lower his voice again.

"A good enough reason to risk drawing attention to myself." Daphne paused, and some of her anger faded.

"This has something to do with your friend. Faith, wasn't it?" Harry grimaced and shrugged.

"She had some problems in school. Let's just say that most of the other kids at that school weren't nice. You can assume that that is a gross understatement." Daphne's look turned to concern for a moment.

"And for you?" Harry shrugged again.

"Like I said, the kids there weren't nice." He didn't elaborate on that. He could deal with the kids at that school, who admittedly made Cordelia and her little friends look like angels. But Faith hated it there. Dealing with that, along with an alcoholic and abusive mother hadn't been exactly easy for her.

"Look, can we please talk about this later?" He asked, rubbing his temples. "I'm really tired and I have to homework to do before I can sleep." Daphne hesitated, but nodded after a moment. She did however walk over to him and hug him briefly.

"I'm just worried about you." She said. He nodded.

"I know." He said when she released him and he started towards his room. He knew that this wasn't over. Daphne was still angry about the lies, he could tell, and she'd probably be talking to Angel about this.

He really wasn't looking forward to the double team that he was going to get about why he shouldn't be hanging out with the slayer after hours.


	8. Angel's a Vampire? No Way!

Harry frowned when he walked into the kitchen. Daphne moving around, and it looked like she was cleaning, except there didn't seem to be anything to clean.

"What's wrong?" He asked. She jumped and looked over at him.

"What do you mean?" Harry's frown deepened and he walked over to her.

"You only get like this when something's wrong. Like that time a few years ago when Angel didn't come home before sunrise…" He trialed off and then noticed the fact that Angel was not there. He pretty much always stayed awake until Harry left for school.

"He didn't come home."

"I'm sure he's fine." She moved over to the stove, "you want breakfast?"

"No, I-" He was cut off by the phone ringing. "Buffy." He said when her name popped up and he picked it up.

"What's up?"

"Hey, thought I'd check in." Harry looked over at Daphne.

"Angel." He said, watching as Daphne let out a breath she'd probably been holding for a while now. Then he frowned. "You're at Buffy's?"

"Yeah. I haven't really had the chance to call. Buffy's mom left for work, though."

"But you're okay? I mean, are you going to stay there today?"

"Yeah. I'll probably come home tonight. I'll see you then. Tell Daphne not to worry so much." Harry grinned and hung up the phone.

"He's fine. He's with Buffy."

* * *

Harry chewed his lip worriedly as he walked to school. Angel had called and said he was fine, but he still couldn't help but to worry. Angel disappearing and not coming back before the sun rose scared the hell out of him. Harry pushed open the doors to the library, thinking that he'd find his friends and take his mind off Angel.

"Whoa. Who died?" He asked when he saw them. All of them were there, which couldn't be a good thing and Buffy was looking rather down and angry.

"Angel," she sighed. Harry froze and his heart stopped. "He spent the night at my house."

"Angel's dead?" Harry's voice squeaked.

"What? No. He's a vampire."

"Oh." He let out a relieved breath. "Oh!" He caught himself. "Angel's a vampire? No way!" He couldn't help the slight waver in his voice. His heart was still pounding.

"Yep. And I'm the fool who fell for his 'I just want to help' line."

"Maybe…maybe he's a good vampire?" Harry said hesitantly. Xander scoffed.

"Yeah, does this look good to you?" He asked, sliding over a book. Harry glanced at it. It was a profile of Angelus. Angel, before he had got the soul. Harry frowned a little. He had always known that Angel had killed a lot of people before he had been cursed but reading about it still made his stomach turn a little bit.

"Yeah. But, when was the last time that something was recorded on him. Maybe he's reformed."

"Vampires do not reform," Giles said, taking the book, "they don't have souls." Harry bit his lip and considered saying that actually at least one of them did, but he stopped himself. Angel had made him promise that he wouldn't say anything to Buffy, but this was different. What if she killed him?

"I just…I can't do it!" Buffy said suddenly, standing up. "He's never done anything to hurt me." Harry nodded.

"That's true. I mean, you don't want to go around staking innocent people, do you?"

"He's not a person!" Xander spoke up again. "Am I the only one getting this?" Harry glared at Xander, and had the sudden urge to punch him. He was grateful, however, that Buffy was looking less than convinced.

"I…just. I don't know." Harry watched her for a moment and then got up. He needed to find Angel and talk to him. He couldn't let Buffy kill him, but he felt a little obligated to at least talk to Angel before he spilled all his secrets.

"I've got to go…study or something." He mumbled, walking out.

* * *

"Waiting for daddy?" Harry stiffened and pulled out his wand, turning towards the voice. Darla stood between him and the door to the apartment.

"What do you want?" He asked harshly, just a little bit scared. He had never met Darla, but he had heard of her. How could he not, she was Angel's sire. When he was younger, Angel used to have some pretty bad nightmares and he'd talk in his sleep too.

Darla had always seemed a little bit on he mythic side to him, like the monster under your bed or the boogeyman that little children believed in. It was the same with the other two that Angel had run with before he got his soul.

And now, here she was, looking like nothing more than a normal girl around Buffy's age. She was even wearing a school girl uniform.

"Just stopping by for a visit." Darla said, grin in place. Harry felt fear rise. Darla hadn't gone after Angel yet, and from what Buffy said she had been in town a little while, but her coming here was not a good sign. She stepped closer, looking him over.

"So, you're the kid he took in?" Harry stood his ground, though.

"What are you doing here, Darla? Feeling lonely? Come to beg for your boy?" He tilted his head to the side. "Are all vampires this pathetic? Because, you know, I've seen the ones that Buffy's dusted…and I gotta say; I'm starting to think that way." Darla's smile didn't falter and she stepped even closer to him.

"Maybe I'll just take you. I turned your daddy after all. It would be fitting." Harry took an involuntary step away from her. The grip he had on his wand tightened but he didn't throw any spells her way. He was slightly afraid that she would be faster than him.

"No thanks. Living forever as a teenager? Not really my idea of fun. I always wanted to know what my twenties would be like." Darla let out a laugh.

"I think you're going to be disappointed then."

"I think you'd better get away from him." Darla turned promptly, staring at Angel who had just turned into their hallway.

"Angel."

"Harry, get inside." He hesitated, watching Darla. He really didn't like the idea of the two of them alone together. Angel met his gaze. "Go." He said and Harry sighed, and skirted around Darla, who made no move to stop him and went inside the apartment. He heard Angel say something to her as he closed the door.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Harry asked as he reached the hospital. Angel had disappeared shortly after his little chat with Darla and Harry had called Buffy, trying to find out if she had seen him. He looked around the waiting room. Willow, Xander and Giles were there.

"Angel attacked Buffy's mom, that's what happened." Xander blurted out angrily. Harry stared at him.

"What? No, he didn't. He couldn't-"

"Look, I know that you seem to think that Angel is good for some reason," Giles interrupted him, "but the evidence is there. Angel bit her." Harry shook his head and rubbed his temples.

"Did she see it happen?" He asked after a moment, looking up at Giles. "Buffy, did she see Angel do it?" Giles frowned.

"Buffy said that she found Angel holding her mother. She was bleeding…"

"Well, there you go." Harry shrugged. "It wasn't Angel."

"How can you be so sure? And if it wasn't Angel, then who was it?"

"My guess is Darla." Willow's eyes widened.

"Darla?" Harry nodded, and then a realization hit him. "Where's Buffy? Please tell me she's in there with her mom." When none of them answered, he turned and started out of the room.

"Wait!" They chased after him, and Xander pulled him to a stop. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Get off me, Xander. I have to find her before she does something stupid." He started walking again, the others pacing him.

"Stupid like killing Angel? Are you going to explain to us why that would be stupid?" Harry turned abruptly, glaring at the three of them.

"Fine." He snapped. "Angel has a soul, has for the better part of the last hundred years. Angel raised me. Angel hasn't killed a person since then. Darla's messing with him, so I'm assuming she's the one who bit Buffy's mom to turn her against Angel. Now, I have to go save my adoptive father, also known as the only vampire with a soul in existence from the vampire slayer he's in love with. Got all that?" He turned again and started off, counting off the seconds before they were shouting his name again.

* * *

"What are you going to do now?" Harry asked, sitting across from Angel at the kitchen table much later that night. He and the others had gotten there just in time to get shot at by Darla. Fortunately, Buffy had decided to hear Angel out before she put a stake in his heart.

"I'm not sure." Angel said, staring off.

"She loves you too, you know?" Angel focused on him again, but at least this time he didn't deny what he felt for Buffy. He shrugged. "Come on. She thought you had tried to kill her mom, and she still couldn't kill you. She loves you."

"Maybe." Harry rolled his eyes.

"There's no maybe about it. She does." Harry had seen it. He knew they loved each other. He just hoped they would figure out what to do about it.

* * *

I know that I skipped a few episodes. On the Buffy front, I've pretty much kept it to the show with Harry added to the mix, but I'm going AU there for season two. In fact, I've been thinking about skipping ahead to Prophesy Girl for the next chapter and then do my season two AU.


	9. Prophesies

This chapter goes through parts of Prophesy Girl. I'm doing something from the wizarding world's point of view in this one, get what's going on there as well. I am doing a very different take on the Voldemort issue.

* * *

Harry frowned when Buffy nearly plowed into him on her way out of the library. She didn't even look at him when she left but he did catch her wiping at her eyes. He hesitated for a moment before going into the library.

"Want to tell me what's going on?" He asked, unsurprised to see Angel there.

"It's…it's nothing."

"That's bull." Harry said, glaring at Angel. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Angel sighed and sat down. Harry crossed his arms and took them both in.

"One of you had to. I know Buffy well enough to know that she wouldn't be crying for nothing. She loves you," he pointed to Angel, "and she looks up to you. So, which is it?"

"It's neither." Giles said quietly. "It's a prophesy."

* * *

"Hey." Harry knocked on her open door. Buffy looked up.

"What are you doing here?" He shrugged, and walked over to flop down on her bed next to her. She gave him a small smile, and they were both silent for a minute.

"We could always leave." He said abruptly, lifting up and bumping her shoulder. "Check out L.A. Live our lives on the run."

"On the run?"

"Sure. Maybe we could kidnap the others or something. We'd need a big van." He continued thoughtfully. She let out a small laugh that threatened to turn into a sob. Harry stayed silent for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry. It's not fair." He said finally. Buffy shrugged.

"Life's not supposed to be fair, or so I've heard." Harry bit his lip and sat up.

"Angel should be here, not me. I'm sorry about that too." Buffy stood up.

"Well, I did kind of scream at him and told him to leave me alone."

"He should still be here." She turned back to him.

"Thank you."

"Come on, you're what? My step mom or something." He grinned when Buffy made a disgusted face.

"_Why_ do you have to say things like that?"

* * *

"You didn't even fight her on it!" Harry stared at Angel.

"What was I supposed to do?" Harry glared at him.

"You're supposed to love her. You're supposed to be the one who-" He was cut off by a knock on the door.

"Xander." Angel said when he opened the door.

"Mind if I come in?" He didn't wait for an answer. "She's gone." Harry's head snapped up.

"What?"

"Buffy. She's gone to fight the master." Harry cursed.

"He'll kill her." Angel said.

"Rumor has it. Only we're not gonna let it happen." Harry nodded.

"Damn right we're not." He said, watching Angel. "Right?" His voice turned challenging.

"I don't like you," Xander said, walking closer to Angel, "at the end of the day, I pretty much think you're a vampire. But Buffy," his eyes turned briefly towards Harry, "and Harry seem to think you're a good guy, a real person. And right now I need you to prove them right."

"Right," Harry smiled at the way that Xander had gotten through to Angel, "we're going then."

* * *

At the end of the day, she won. Harry stood with the rest of them, looking at the skeleton that used to be the most powerful vampire in existence.

The day had been, well, stressful was putting it lightly. Buffy had died. Luckily, Xander had brought her back. He smiled a little as he walked away beside his friends and his adoptive father.

* * *

"Hey." Harry said as he walked into the house. He yawned a little. Angel gave him an amused glance.

"Hey." Harry stretched a little.

"Man, I'm thinking of being out of town myself the next time Buffy has to pack."

"She's gone then?" Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's just for the summer. Don't worry, she'll be back."

"I'm not worried." Angel said defensively.

"Yeah, sure." Harry said with a small smile. He started back to his room, rubbing his forehead where that old scar was absently.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, which was surrounded by members of the order. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Alastar Moody, Molly and Arthur Weasely, Severus Snape. He had gathered the inner circle for this.

"So, it's true then?" Remus asked finally. Sirius sighed and leaned back in his chair. They had all known this was a possibility, after all. Still, to hear it being said as a fact…He glanced briefly at the Weasely's. He knew they were thinking about their youngest child.

"And there's still no word on Harry?" Sirius eyes snapped to the man at that. He knew why Dumbledore wanted to find Harry, but he didn't like it.

"No." Snape spoke up. "He must either be well hidden, or…" Sirius and Remus both glared at Snape, but he ignored them. Harry had been missing for almost ten years now. Sirius had been furious about this little fact when he had found out after he had escaped from Azkaban.

This was the reason that Dumbledore had summoned only these people to the meeting. He didn't want anyone else knowing how important Harry supposedly was. Even then, Dumbledore had told no one exactly why Harry was so important but it wasn't hard to figure out. For some reason, the man thought that Harry was the only one who could defeat Voldemort.

Dumbledore, for one, believed that Harry was alive somewhere out there, just very well hidden. Sirius looked down at the table thoughtfully. Harry would be turning sixteen in two months.

"We must find him." Dumbledore said after a minute. "In the meantime, it looks like the war is starting again. Voldemort has returned."

* * *

I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I know that I didn't answer a great deal of questions about the wizarding world either, but I did plan it that way. I'm starting my season two AU of Buffy and I've got everything planned out. I've got this entire story planned out actually.


	10. Faith

Harry grinned when Xander and Willow caught up with him, followed closely by Buffy. They had gone out and Harry had decided to split from Xander and Willow mostly because of the way they both had been looking at each other.

"Hey," he walked over to them, "you're back."

"Yep." Buffy said, giving him a brief hug, but she didn't smile.

"What's up?"

"Vampires." Xander stated, now looking at Buffy with an all too familiar expression. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

"And somebody else took them out before I could." Harry frowned.

"Someone else?" Buffy nodded, now looking around.

"Some girl." She shrugged. "She looked strong and fast."

"Stronger and faster than you?"

"What? No."

"Man, she was something, though." Xander said, staring off a little dreamily, and causing Buffy to roll her eyes.

"Xander, she's evil."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Willow asked.

"Oh, please. Some mysterious dark haired chick shows up out of nowhere with supernatural powers…"

"Yeah, you've got a point."

"Dressed in black? Maybe some leather pants?" Harry asked suddenly, getting an idea. Buffy made a face at him.

"Don't tell me you're going down Xander's path." Harry shook his head. Harry was about to look around when he was plowed into. He fell hard on his back with someone on top of him. When he looked up, he met familiar brown eyes.

"Hey, baby. Miss me?" She said before she was yanked off him by Buffy.

"Wait, don't!" Harry called, wheezing slightly still as he got to his feet. Buffy let the girl go, but was still looking at her warily, still prepared to fight.

"Who are you?" She glared at the dark haired girl, who ignored Buffy. Her eyes danced with amusement when she met Harry's.

"Getting a little slow, aren't we?" Harry smiled a little and rubbed a hand on his chest.

"Well, it does seem like you've got some new advantages." He frowned. "How did that happen anyway?" She shrugged.

"Not sure. Although, it's good to know I was next on the list." Harry's frown deepened.

"Yeah, but she's not dead," he pointed to Buffy. "I thought it only happened when one died."

"Excuse me!" Buffy called in an exasperated voice. "Could someone please tell me what is going on, and how you two know each other."

"Right, sorry. I'm Faith," she smirked and her voice lowered slightly, "the vampire slayer."

"Very dramatic." Harry rolled his eyes. "Did you have to hit me so hard?"

"Baby." Faith grinned at him. "You're the one who started that game."

"Yeah, but that was before you gained supernatural powers. Which, by the way, I'm still not so sure is a good thing. How am I supposed to win now, when you can supposedly kick my ass so easily."

"I could always kick your ass, scrawny." Harry glared at her.

"Don't call me that."

"Why not? It kinda fits."

"Bitch." He muttered, but he did smile a little.

"Super powered bitch now."

"Um, hello?" Buffy interrupted them. "Still waiting for answers here."

"Me too." Harry said, eyeing Faith. Buffy sighed.

"We should go talk to Giles."

* * *

"So, it doesn't even matter that Buffy was brought back or that she only died for a minute?" Harry asked later. Giles shook his head.

"No, it wouldn't. The minute she died, the new slayer was activated. Faith." He looked over at Faith. "Does your watcher know where you are?"

"Of course." Faith said, and Harry had to fight down a laugh at the blatant lie. She jumped up, and reached over to grab Harry's hand. "You gonna show me around town or not?" Harry got up and let her pull him out of the room.

"Not like there's much town to show."

* * *

"This is where your staying?" Harry asked as he followed Faith into the motel room.

"What? It's not so bad. Besides, I get the place to myself."

"And when Giles finds out that you were lying about your watcher earlier." She simply shrugged at that, unconcerned.

"I'll guess she'll come here. Look, she didn't really want me to come here. Said it was too dangerous." Harry smiled a little.

"She cares about you."

"I guess." Faith looked a little uncomfortable for a moment before she grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer.

"So, you never answered my question. Did you miss me?" He frowned at her.

"Course. Did you miss me?" She grinned.

"What do you think?" He stepped out of her hold and reached into his pocket, pulling out the bracelet she had sent him and holding it up.

"I'm not sure." She took it from him and rolled her eyes.

"Look, you left, alright? I needed a clean break." When Harry didn't say anything, she stepped close again. "Come on, H." She pouted at him. "You know I'd miss you." She leaned forward and kissed him.

Wrapping her arm around his neck, Faith brought him even closer to her. He broke the kiss, however, when he cell phone rang. Faith sighed in annoyance as he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Angel." He frowned, looking up at her. "Buffy must have told him about you." Faith's annoyance disappeared at that.

"Wait, Angel and Buffy are friends?" Harry grinned.

"Actually, they're sort of dating." Faith stared at him for a moment before she let out a laugh.

"Angel's dating a slayer?"

"Yep." She shook her head.

"What has been going on here?" Harry shrugged, and his smile faded slightly. He had pretty much told her all of this in the letters he had sent to her.

"I should go." He said, heading towards the door. Irritation settled back into Faith's eyes.

"Oh, come on. I know I didn't write you back or whatever. You don't have to leave." Harry smiled at her.

"Yeah, well. If I don't then Angel will come looking for me. Good to see you, Faith."

* * *

"Faith's in town?" Angel asked as Harry poured himself some cereal.

"Yep."

"And she's a slayer."

"Yeah. Hey, somebody really needs to go to the store. We're running seriously low on food."

"Daphne said she'd go in the morning. Faith's a slayer." He repeated.

"Uh huh." Harry mumbled, sitting down.

"Did you know about this?" Harry looked up at him finally.

"What are you talking about. I was here when Buffy died, remember?"

"But you knew she had the potential if Buffy died, didn't you?"

"Maybe." Harry looked back at his food.

"Harry…"

"What? Oh, come on. You and Daphne would have freaked out if I told you. Besides, I promised Faith I wouldn't." Angel still looked angry.

"So, you didn't tell us. Even though you knew there was a possibility this could happen." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Only if Buffy died. I thought we came here so you could make sure it didn't happen. Besides, Faith said there are hundreds of potential slayers in the world. How was I supposed to know that she was first on the list?"

"You still should have told us." Harry scoffed and stood to drop his bowl in the sink.

"So we could what? Leave Boston even earlier than we did. You don't get it. I didn't want to leave Boston. I didn't want to leave…" Harry trailed off.

"Faith?" Angel finished for him. He shook his head. "What is it about this family and slayers?" Harry grinned.

"I don't know. To bad there isn't any male ones out there for Daphne." Angel smiled at him as well.

"How's she handling it?" He asked finally. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Faith handles everything fine." _At least on the outside. _

"You don't sound so convinced."

"She's fine," Harry repeated, standing up, "I'm going to bed." He sighed when he reached his room and collapsed on his bed as the day's events caught up with him. Faith. Faith was in town.

She seemed different to him. He hadn't spoken with her much, but he had always been able to tell when something was wrong with her, which was useful since she never talked about what was wrong with her.

He wondered what all had happened while she was in Boston. Harry had never met her watcher. It had only been about two months before he left that she had.

Faith had thought it was funny, when she found out what she was and what she could be someday. She thought it was funny that she was with the son of a vampire when she was supposed to be trained to kill vampires, which why it was even more amusing that Angel was dating Buffy.

He wondered if Faith's watcher would come and drag her back to Boston. It would be a hard thing to do if Faith didn't want to go back, though. The girl was stubborn.

Despite the feeling that something was wrong with her, he was happy that she was here, and he was hoping that she wouldn't leave.

* * *

Okay, so no Kendra. I wanted to bring in Faith instead. Hope you guys don't mind.


	11. Jealousy

"Hey!" Harry ran into the library. "Have you seen Buffy? I can't-" He stopped short when he noticed the fact that Giles was not alone. "Sorry." He said to the woman. She was a pretty lady probably around Giles' age with dark hair. When Harry caught the look on Giles' face, he winced.

"Harry, this is Deborah Bell."

"Let me guess, Faith's watcher?"

"And you wouldn't happen to know where Faith is at the moment would you?" She asked. She was angry, but Harry could also see concern in her eyes. The woman really did care for Faith.

"Uh, no. Haven't seen her since last night, actually."

"Yes, well. As her guardian-"

"Wait. You're Faith's guardian? What happened with her mom?"

"Faith has told me that you two were friends growing up," Harry nodded, "do I really have to answer that question then?" Harry sighed, not really surprised that Faith's mom would ditch her so easily.

"Faith talked about me?" He asked suddenly, slightly surprised, especially with the way Faith had acted the night before and the fact that she obviously hadn't read any of the letters he had sent her.

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to discuss what Faith and I talked about, do you?" Harry shook his head. Still, it was good to know that maybe Faith really did miss him.

"Guess not." He chewed his lip. "If I find her, I'll tell you."

* * *

"Hello, ladies," Harry grinned, putting his arms around Faith and Buffy, after finding them in the school hallways, "how's it going?" Faith and Buffy both shoved his arms off them.

"I'm just showing her around." Buffy said.

"Yeah? We should really go to the library then."

"I've already seen the library," Faith said, rolling her eyes at him. He smiled.

"But you never know when something new will pop up."

"In the library." Buffy said, staring at him like he was crazy. Harry just grinned at the both and grabbed Faith's arm.

"Come on." He pushed her ahead of him into the library and Faith stopped short.

"Deb." She sent Harry a glare. "You could have warned me." She whispered. Harry shrugged.

"I could have, yes."

"Faith." Deborah walked over, her arms crossed. "Would you please explain to me why you decided to skip town without telling me." Faith shrugged, but Harry thought she actually looked a little bit ashamed.

"Well, you know. Boston was getting a little boring."

"Boring? So you decided to leave the state? Without telling me." Faith simply nodded, but she did look down.

"Faith, what were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry." She said, definitely ashamed now. "I just had to get out." Harry stared at Faith, and then looked over at Deborah. Faith never apologized, at least not when she had been living at her mother's.

"I am going to assume that you lied about your age to get a motel room. Go, get your things and meet me back here." Faith nodded, still not meeting her eyes and walked out of the room. Harry hesitated for a moment before leaving, catching up with Faith before she made it out of the school.

"Hey, you okay?" Faith shrugged.

"Of course."

"How long have you been living with her?"

"A little while." He didn't ask what happened with her mom.

"She cares about you." He said instead after a moment.

"Yeah." She turned to him. "Listen, I gotta go. Talk to you later?" She walked out the door without waiting for an answer. Harry sighed and turned back to go to classes.

* * *

"So, what's the deal with you and Faith anyways?" Buffy asked later that night. They were walking side by side through town. He shrugged, twirling his wand.

"We grew up together. We moved to Boston two years after Angel found me." Buffy frowned.

"Yeah, you never did say how that went down exactly. I mean, all you said was that you were a wizard and that Angel adopted you when you were six. Oh, and that you didn't want the wizarding world to find out where you were, because of the way you're parents died." Harry shrugged again, suddenly uncomfortable. He hadn't told her everything. Not because he didn't trust her, he just didn't really like talking about it.

"Angel found me when I was living with relatives of my mom. I mean, my birth mother, you know. Somebody dumped me there after my parents were killed when I was one." She knew about that already, though. She knew about the Boy Who Lived stuff. Buffy, Faith, and Giles were the only people he had ever talked about that stuff with, though, and he had only told Giles the whole story so he wouldn't go telling anyone else.

"Why did Angel take you away from your relatives?" Buffy stopped and turned to him. Harry shifted a little on his feet.

"Angel saved me from that place." He said after a moment. Buffy's eyes widened after a minute in understanding. She pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry." She said. Harry, a little bit amused, patted her back.

"Uh, Buffy? I am okay, you know? It has been ten years."

"Right." She said. She gave him a squeeze before she started to pull back.

"Am I interrupting something?" Buffy and Harry sprang apart and turned to Faith, carrying her own stake.

"Nope." Buffy said. "Come on. Let's go kill things." She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him towards the cemetery, Faith following.

* * *

"I'm fine." Harry said in exasperation, swinging his arm to prove his point even if it did hurt.

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked. "You know what Angel and Daphne will do if you get hurt when you're with me."

"They'll kill me for going out on patrol with you." He shrugged with one shoulder.

"I thought you were this badass wizard, anyways." She said, her voice turned teasing and she shook her head. "The great Harry Potter taken down by a lowly vampire."

"Hey, that guy came out of nowhere. And my last names Blackburn now." Buffy shook herself a little.

"You think the others are still at the Bronze? We could unwind a little."

"Maybe." He said, turning to Faith, who had been a little quiet the entire night. "You coming?"

"Naw. Deb's still a little mad at me. I better head back." Harry nodded.

"Alright, see you later?" She nodded and walked off. Buffy linked her arm in his, waving at Faith and pulling him back towards town.

* * *

"How did it go?" Deb asked as soon as Faith entered the hotel room. It was much better than the one that Faith had rented out when she had first got to town. Faith shrugged.

"Fine." She lied. Deb sighed. She had let Faith go out to find Harry because she knew that he was the real reason that Faith had come to Sunnydale, even if she would never admit it.

"Did you talk to him?" Faith looked up, startled.

"Buffy and Harry were out patrolling." She said, her eyes darkening for a second. Deb watched her. She recognized the look in Faith's eyes.

"You should still talk to him." She said after a moment. Faith stood up.

"I'm gonna go to bed." She walked out of the room without looking back. Deb sighed again. She was pretty sure that she had seen jealousy in Faith's eyes and that whatever had caused it was her jumping to conclusions.

She had talked to Rupert Giles about everything that had been going on in Sunnydale, and had to admit this place was…surprising. He had even admitted that his slayer was in love with a vampire. A vampire with a soul, but still a vampire.

She knew that Faith loved this boy, Harry. Coming here was the first time that she had met the boy, but she had seen the way that Faith acted after he had moved away from Boston.

She had also seen the way the boy had reacted when she had talked about Faith. She had seen the hopeful look in his eyes when he had asked her if Faith talked about him. She smiled slightly. She was pretty sure that Faith had nothing to worry about.

* * *

"Hey, you alright?" Buffy sat down across from him, bringing him out of his thoughts. He jumped a little, looking up at her.

"What? Yeah. Just thinking."

"About…Faith?" She grinned a little knowingly at him.

"Faith?" She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on. I know that look." He grinned as well.

"Why? Is it the one you get when you think about Angel?" She glared at him.

"No changing the subject." She said sternly, pointing at him. Her gaze softened a little. "You care about her."

"Course I do. We did grow up together." She shook her head.

"Not the way I meant. You should talk to her."

"Sure thing. As soon as you talk to Angel." She scowled at him.

"That's playing dirty." He shrugged, grinning wider at her. He was in a good mood, though and Buffy was right. He did care about Faith, more than he would a friend, too. He just didn't know if she felt the same way.


	12. Spike

"Hi." Harry said a little nervously when Deborah answered the door.

"Hello, Harry. Come in."

"Thanks." He said, following her inside. "Like the new place." He said, looking around the apartment.

"Thank you." She smiled a little at him. "Faith is in her room." She pointed the way. "Right down the hall." He smiled back at her before starting that way.

"Hey." Harry said, standing in the open doorway. Faith's head snapped up.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Harry rolled his eyes.

"I came to see Deborah. What do you think I'm doing here?" He clapped his hands, nervous. "So, what's going on?"

"Deb wants me to start school here." Harry nodded.

"Their having this parent teacher thing tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know. Deb wants to talk to the principal then. Apparently I'll be there." Harry stared at her.

"So, she convinced you to go?" Faith shrugged.

"I guess."

"That's cool. So we'll see each other more, right?"

"And Buffy." She mumbled. Harry frowned.

"What?" She shook her head.

"Nothing." Harry nodded, leaning against the wall, and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Haven't seen you lately. Not since you showed up here, anyways."

"Been busy." She said. Harry frowned again. In all the time he had known her, he had gotten pretty good at reading her. She was angry, and he knew that it was directed at him.

"Faith, I'm sorry I left. I didn't want to. Angel and Daphne kind of forced it on me."

"You're mad at me."

"I'm not." She said, forcefully. "I'm over it, have been for a while."

"You're over it." He repeated. She shrugged.

"It's not a big deal, H. Not like we were in love or something. People move away, you deal." Harry stared at her.

"So, that's it. You're just…" Faith rolled her eyes.

"It's fine, like I said. I'm good." Harry looked down for a moment, a pain in his chest.

"Right." He said, looking back up at her. "I guess I'll see in school."

* * *

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked, looking up from her French book at Harry. "Harry?" She waved a hand in front of his face, making him jump.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" He nodded, looking around.

"Yeah. You know what; I think I'm going to get out of here. See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Buffy called, still worried.

* * *

"Spike?" Harry said, disbelievingly, staring at Buffy.

"That's what the other vamp called him. Why, you know him?"

"Uh, no. I've just…sort of heard of him."

"Heard of him how?" Giles asked. "I haven't found anything on him yet."

"Well, you see…okay, so when I got old enough to actually realize what Angel was and what it meant exactly, I sort of did a little research of my own. Plus, there were some things that I heard Angel say."

"What kind of things? I mean, if I'm going to have to fight this guy…" Harry grimaced.

"Do you know if he went by a different name at some point?" Giles asked.

"Well, I heard Angel say the name William once. So, I looked it up and found this guy you're talking about. Apparently, Angel and Spike used to run together. The books made him seem just as badass as Angel was back then before he got his soul."

"How badass?" Buffy asked. Harry hesitated for a second.

"Well, he killed two slayers."

"Oh."

* * *

"This is so not good." Buffy whispered furiously to Harry. They were trapped in a classroom with Spike and his cronies outside.

"We need to find a way to get me out." Buffy said, looking up.

"Me too. I'm going with you."

"What?" Daphne spoke up, overhearing them. "No. No way."

"You could get up there?" Harry asked Buffy, pulling a stool over. "I'm not sitting here while she's in danger." He told Daphne.

"It's too dangerous." Daphne argued.

"I have my wand." He glanced over at Buffy. "Look, we really don't have time to argue. I promise I'll be careful, but I can't just sit here." Daphne sighed.

"Fine. I'll go with you then." Harry shook his head as well as Buffy.

"No, you have to stay here. Protect them." He indicated Buffy's mom and the two men stuck in the room. "I'll be okay." Daphne nodded finally before pulling him into a brief hug.

* * *

Faith staked the vampire before it could do anything, scowling down at the ash a little. Of course vampires would attack on the first night that Deb brought her here to get her into the school.

Ignoring the pang of worry for the fact that she had no idea where Harry was, she started slowly down the hall, looking for her watcher. Deb should have been down here somewhere.

When Faith turned the corner, she stopped in her tracks at the sight. A little bit in shock, she fell into a sitting position and stared at the body before her.

"Deb?"

* * *

"So, your mom saved the day in the end?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep." Buffy said, grinning. "I guess so. And she's not even mad at me about what Snyder said."

"That's great." He looked over to the side. "Listen, I better go. Daphne's been pretty worried." Buffy nodded and hugged him.

"See you later."

* * *

Faith sat in that same position until they carted Deb's body off. She was aware of someone talking to her but she ignored them, jumping to her feet instead and starting outside.

She wanted, no needed to see Harry. When she got outside, however, she stopped once again. She felt the numbness that had crept up when she'd seen Deb's body be replaced by a burning rage as she watched Harry and Buffy embrace.

She didn't wait for them to see her, for anyone to see her. She simply turned and ran from the school grounds.

* * *

This chapter is insanely short, I know. I'm sorry. I was having so much trouble writing it. It took forever and it's still really short. I'll try to get the next one out sooner and make it better.

Someone requested that I write the Halloween episode with what Harry would have worn so I'll probably do that next.


	13. The Warrior Princess and Her God of War

This is a rewrite of the Halloween episode. Once again, I'm sorry for the wait. I just couldn't seem to get this chapter out. I finally decided on what Harry would dress up as. Someone suggested Superman and Lois for Harry and Faith, but I just couldn't picture him dressing up in the tights, or Faith dressing up as Lois. I hope you like my choice.

* * *

"Maybe you could ask Harry?" Willow suggested. Buffy stared at her.

"You want me to ask Angel's son what kind of girls he's into." She asked incredulously.

"Yeah, okay, not such a good idea."

"Besides, Harry's been kind of in a funk lately. Worried about Faith, I guess."

"Has he talked to her?" Buffy shook her head and they stood up, heading towards the library.

"Said he's tried. She's avoiding him, though. I tried too, but no good. She doesn't want to talk to anyone. She just sort of shrugged it off, but I know that Deb meant more to her than she's letting on."

"Maybe we should all go over there. You know, be there for her?"

"I don't know. Faith doesn't seem like the type to appreciate the group hug thing." She sighed. "Harry seems to think that she viewed Deb as a parent, though. If that's true she's got to be going through something."

"Yeah."

* * *

"Hey!" Buffy said, opening her door and letting Harry in. Her jaw dropped when she got a look at him.

"What?" He asked, shifting a little uncomfortably.

"You're wearing leather." She said, surprised. She paused, looking him over. "A whole lot of it." Reaching up, she touched his now longer and curly hair. "That doesn't feel like a wig." He shrugged.

"I might have used a bit of magic."

"Who are you supposed to be anyways?" She raised an eyebrow, eyeing the tight leather pants.

"Uh, Ares, actually. You know, from Xena." Buffy stared at him.

"You watch that show?" Harry shrugged, looking even more unconfratable.

"Faith made me watch it." Buffy nodded in understanding.

"So, this is your way of, what? Cheering her up?"

"Are we leaving?" He asked loudly, straitening the wide belt that held a fake sword. Truthfully, he was just trying to get some kind of reaction out of Faith. When she wasn't avoiding him, she was acting like she would around any stranger.

He was sure that anyone who knew Faith would be a little surprised that she watched the show at all. In fact, Harry had been a little surprised himself. True, the show was violent, it had a lot of action, something Faith did like, but it also had a whole lot of sap, too, something Faith had always claimed she hated.

She did watch every week, though, and Harry spent some time with her on the couch while she complained about the fact that both Xena and Ares had gone soft in the later seasons.

The complaints were exaggerated, though, and Harry was sure they were completely fake. Harry had always thought it was slightly amusing that Faith had a thing for Ares. He hoped that he could at least get some sort of reaction. He really hoped that he wasn't wearing leather pants for nothing.

* * *

"Whoa, Faith. Nice outfit." Xander said when he saw her coming down the street. He frowned. "Who are you supposed to be?" Faith stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Don't be a moron." She said, flaring out the gold and black skirt that attached to her outfit. She straightened the shoulder pieces.

"Isn't Xena's outfit a little different than that?" Faith rolled her eyes.

"You would know." She said. "But yes, it is. That's because I'm not using her outfit from the show, I'm using it from the other one. I'm the bad Xena, get it?"

"Right."

* * *

"Harry!" Willow stood from where she had been talking to Buffy when she saw Harry. He didn't even acknowledge her, though. He was staring out town. Willow sighed.

"Ares?" She called instead. He stopped short, and turned to her. He seemed bigger, taller than when she'd last seen him.

"What is this place?" He asked, glaring at her.

"A demon!" Buffy's scream interrupted them, and she jumped behind Xander as a car drove past.

"It's not a demon, it's a car." Willow said with a sigh.

"What does it want?" She asked, not letting go of Xander.

"Is this woman insane?" Xander asked. Willow glanced at Harry, who was watching the car's progress as well. He'd never seen one either, but unlike Buffy, he didn't scream.

"We need to get out of here." Willow reminded them. "Figure out what's going on."

"Where can we go?" Xander asked, looking around warily. Willow frowned a moment.

"I know a place." They started off, but Willow turned back when she realized that Harry wasn't following. "Aren't you coming?"

"With you? Why?"

"We need to find a safe place, and we can find a way to send you back home." He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Willow thought for a moment, and then she remembered seeing Faith earlier in the day. "Xena'll be there."

"Xena?" He repeated. For a moment, he stood still and then he was walking towards them. "Lead the way, then."

* * *

"Faith!" Cordelia ran up to her. "You have got to help me." She looked around for the monster that had been chasing her. When she turned back to Faith and took in her costume, she scoffed. "Xena, really?" Faith arched on eyebrow. Before she knew what was happening, Cordelia felt herself being slammed into the tree at her back.

"What is this place?" She asked in a low voice, her tone menacing.

"Hey." Cordelia pulled at the arm that was holding her in place. "Get off of me!"

"Hey!" Willow came running over, Xander behind her. She stopped when Faith turned her glare on them.

"Who are you?" She asked, keeping her hold on Cordelia.

"Hold on." Willow raised her hands when she realized that the sword in Faith's hands looked very real. "You don't want to kill her."

"Did you bring me here?" Faith asked, pressing her forearm into Cordelia's throat.

"No, no. It wasn't us. Maybe..." She paused. "Maybe you should ask Ares." She said, the idea hitting her. She needed to get them in the house, and safe before she could go and find Giles.

"Ares." The way Faith's eyes darkened had her feeling slightly nervous. Faith released Cordelia and stepped up to Willow. "Where is he?"

"Uh...he's in the house, but you shouldn't..." Faith ignored her and stalked towards the house. Willow let out a nervous sigh before following.

"Ares!" Faith yelled as soon as she was inside.

"Xena." Harry started over to her but as soon as she was within reaching distance she punched him in the jaw, hard. When he staggered, she landed a kick that had him on the ground. Her sword was out and pointed at his chest a second later. Completely unconcerned with the sword, Harry propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at her.

"And what has you practicing your more violent skills on me this time, Xena?" Faith arched an eyebrow, and the point of her sword did not leave his chest.

"Did you bring us here?" She asked, a clear threat in her voice. Harry gave a short laugh.

"Now, why would I bring us here?" He stood, and though Faith did let up some, she didn't lower the weapon. Bringing up a hand, he pushed the sword aside and stepped closer to her.

"I'm doing your work for you, Ares." Faith said. "Are you unhappy with the way I'm doing it for some reason?"

"If I were unhappy with you, do you honestly believe that I would send us both here?" He trailed a hand down her arm. "I think we should practice some of your other skills."

"Well, at least they're not trying to kill each other." Willow said, staring wide-eyed at the two, especially when Faith practically leapt into Harry's arms and he held her up. She needed to fix this.

"I'm going to find Giles." She told Xander, Cordelia, and Buffy. "Just...stay here." Taking one last glance at Faith and Harry, she walked through the wall.

* * *

"Good. You're alright." Angel said in relief when he got into Buffy's house and found her with Xander. His eyes widened, however, when he saw Harry and Faith, currently on the other side of the room, kissing passionately.

"My army is gone." Faith said when she pulled back, though she didn't sound too concerned. Harry grinned at her.

"Don't worry, we'll rebuild." A second later, they both disappeared in a flash of light. Angel stared at the spot where they had disappeared from and turned as he heard footsteps behind him, meeting Daphne's gaze.

"So, I guess things aren't really under control here."

* * *

"So everybody became whatever they were masquerading as." Giles said. Willow nodded.

"Right. Xander was a soldier and Buffy was an 18th-century girl. Harry and Faith decided to dress up as Xena and Ares, but of course they had to pick the evil Xena and Ares. You know the ones who like to ransack villages and kill people with swords."

"Xena and Ares..." Giles gestured to her. "And you're costume?"

* * *

"Where are we, Ares?" She asked, looking out at the city.

"Where else?" He spread his arms and grinned at her. "On top of the world." She smiled, looking down at the large city below, at the people.

"This place is different." She gestured to the buildings.

"You're right, but that doesn't change things, does it?" He put his hands on her waist.

"Oh, no. It doesn't." She turned in his arms and brought him down for another kiss.

* * *

Spike grabbed a hold of Buffy's hair, leaning down to bite her but he stopped when he heard the screaming from behind him. He started to pull Buffy but it came away and he was holding a long brown wig. He looked back to see her smiling at him.

"Hi, honey. I'm home." She said before punching him in the gut.

* * *

They were kissing when Faith's eyes snapped open and widened. She jerked away from Harry and immediately pulled the sleeves of her outfit back up, covering herself.

"Oh, what the hell?" Harry stared at her a moment before straightening himself and pulled the black leather vest back on.

"The Empire State Building?!" She asked incredulously, staring at him. Harry shrugged, looking down at New York.

"It is one of the tallest buildings in the world."

"That's great." She said with a glare. "Can you get us back to Sunnydale?" Harry hesitated.

"I don't know."

"You don't know." She repeated. Harry shrugged again.

"Well, Daphne hadn't started showing me how to apparate until recently. Like, just a couple of months ago recently. Apparently it can be slightly dangerous if you're too young or not trained enough. I could try to do it with both of us, but I've never done it with another person..."

"So, what could happen?" Harry winced slightly.

"Well, Daphne says that if you don't do it right...you could sort of...well, leave a part of yourself behind. Like, only half of us could show up in Sunnydale." Faith considered this for a moment.

"I'll risk it." She said, going over to him. Harry's eyes narrowed at her tone, though. She just didn't want to be in the same place as him. Crossing his arms, he glared at her.

"You know what? Maybe I don't want to risk it, at least not right now." It wasn't like they were outside the building, something he was grateful for. At least they were inside, just at the very top.

"What? Are you're scared?" Harry leaned against the wall.

"Not scared, just wondering why you've been like this since you got to Sunnydale."

"Like what?" She asked, glaring again.

"You've been pissed at me for a while now, and I kind of want to know why. I get that I left, but I didn't have a choice in the matter. I get that you loved Deb-"

"Why are we talking about this?" She interrupted him, anger in her voice. "Why don't you just take us back to Sunnydale. You can get back to Buffy and your friends and I-"

"Can get back to ignoring me? Faith, why are you so angry with me? This isn't just about what happened to Deb, you've been weird since before that." He saw pain flash briefly in her eyes at the mention of Deb but she shrugged it off.

"I'm not acting weird." Pushing himself off the wall, he stepped closer to her.

"Yes, you have been. You were fine when you first got here, but now all you do is blow me off. You're angry at me, and I know you don't like Buffy..." He trailed off, frowning suddenly.

"Buffy." Some of her anger came back. "You know, the sooner we get out of here, the sooner you can get back to her." Harry stared at her, surprised, and then had the momentary desire to laugh. He didn't, of course, aware that Faith might actually kick his ass if he did.

"You think I like Buffy." He asked incredulously. "You think I'm with Buffy?!"

"Can we not talk about this-"

"Faith, that's the most ridiculous thing you could think." He held up his hands when her glare intensified. "What I mean is Buffy is in love with Angel, and he's in love with her. Buffy only wore that costume because she wanted to impress him."

"How do you know that?" Harry shrugged.

"I took a guess from some of the things she said. They are together, you know? They love each other. I do not like Buffy, at least not like that. She's more like...a sister, I guess." For a moment, Faith said nothing, then she just shrugged.

"Are we getting out of here or what?" Harry stared at her in surprise.

"That's it?" She raised an eyebrow, her dark eyes not betraying anything she was actually feeling.

"What were you expecting."

"More than that." Harry said, getting a little angry himself. "I've been worried sick about you for weeks; I've tried repeatedly to get you to talk about me." He spread his arms and looked down at himself before meeting her gaze again. "I even wore leather pants for you." A small smile played on her lips for a brief moment, but she didn't say anything.

"Okay, you know what? Fine." Harry dropped his arms. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I guess you can just go back to ignoring me if you want. I mean, it's not like we weren't friends for years, it's not like we were together for a long time. It's not like I don't love you-" Faith cut him off, finally, with a kiss. Surprised, Harry didn't react at first, and Faith pulled back before he could.

"Let's get out of here." She said after a moment, a hint of amusement in her eyes. Harry nodded, still a little surprised. Faith glanced behind him.

"I kind of like the leather pants." She said with a smirk. Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, preparing to at least try and apparate them away.

* * *

I know that Faith's taking the Deb thing pretty lightly but that's the way I think her character is. I don't think she'd talk about it willingly. The scene where she kisses Harry, I just thought that she would handle it the lightest way possible. I never thought Faith was the type of girl to declare her feelings in a dramatic way.


	14. Surprise

This chapter and the next one are going to be my version of Surprise and Innocence. I did skip a few episodes but I didn't really feel the need to rewrite them all. This is going to be a little different from the show.

* * *

"Why are we doing this again?" Harry asked again, frowning in frustration when he made the right movements but nothing happened.

"Because this is what you would be learning had you gone to school. Sixth and seventh years always learn how to cast silent spells and you should learn it as well."

"But I didn't go to school," Harry sat down, "and it's not likely that I'll be willingly making an appearance back in the wizarding world. Besides, I probably won't be in some kind of battle any time soon with another wizard."

"I would rather that you were prepared in case you did reenter that world some day."

"Well, unless Voldemort were somehow alive I doubt I'll have to start fighting wizards anytime soon. Even if he were alive, though, I don't think he'd come here directly."

"Why do you say that?" Daphne crossed her arms, frowning at him. "If Voldemort were alive and still wanted to kill you."

"It would be a disadvantage to come here directly. I mean, here I've got you, Angel, Faith, Buffy..." He frowned again, lost in thought and didn't notice the look on Daphne's face. "_If _he is alive and _if _he could somehow find out where I am and _if _he wants to kill me badly enough, the best way would be to lure me away from you all. He's got to be pretty patient, right? It took him decades to build up followers the first time. I suppose that if he did attack us all directly it could work. After all, he's already proven that he was a powerful wizard but that way I could get away or he would take casualties..."

"I don't think Voldemort cared much about his followers, Harry." He shook his head and got up, starting to pace.

"No, from what you've told me and what I've read he doesn't. Even though that's true if he's smart as people think he is why go for the direct attack, the one with the most risk when he could go for one that holds much less risk? He's patient and smart, he probably plans out his attacks far in advance. He more than likely was planning his war from early on while he was still in school. So, if he wants to kill me still, why risk going through you and the others when he might think he doesn't have to? He'd want to start a war again and even if he doesn't _care_ about his followers he still would need as many as he could to fight. It would be foolish to throw them away needlessly when he doesn't have to."

"You think he was planning the war while he was still at Hogwarts?"

"It makes sense. If he had followers fiercely devoted to him and his cause then he had to have known them even if they didn't truly know him. Look at Buffy. She's got Xander, Willow, Angel. Hell even Cordelia's backing her now even if it's just for Xander. If Xander hadn't been there to bring her back she wouldn't have survived the fight with the Master, remember?"

"But that's different. You are her friends and you care for her and her for you." Harry nodded with a smile.

"Yes, that's true. People follow for different reasons, though. Some, he probably only had to hand out promises of power. Those are more than likely the ones who claimed they were under a spell when Voldemort fell. But there were some, weren't there, who truly believed he was in the right? Some who were completely devoted to his cause. If he built a network while still at Hogwarts, those people were probably the ones most devoted when the war finally started."

"Well, you are right about that. There were some who refused to speak against Voldemort and went to Azkaban for it." Harry nodded, lost in thought again.

"In the end, it doesn't matter why they're there as long as they're willing to fight. Fear and the promise of power are good motivator's for getting someone to fight but they aren't always reliable. I'd be willing to bet that he never truly trusted anyone but if he were alive, I'd say that he'd trust the one's in Azkaban the most."

"You've been thinking about this?" Daphne asked. Her eyes were slightly wide in surprise at all he'd said and Harry shrugged, sitting back down.

"Actually no. I think it's Ares. You know how I said all that military knowledge stuck with Xander from his Halloween costume? Well, Ares knew a lot about war, a lot about how to win one. It's weird. Every time I go patrolling with Buffy and Faith my mind sort of goes into overdrive. You know, analyzing the best way to win the fight..."

"That must come in handy..." He shrugged again.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Voldemort's dead, right?"

"Right."

* * *

"So, you don't think Buffy has any idea what's going on?" Daphne asked, stirring the cake mix with a little bit more force than necessary.

"No," Angel frowned at her, "I don't think she does. I think Buffy's too focused on that the dream she had to pick up on anything right now..."

"Right, the dream. The one where Drusilla is still alive..." Angel walked over to her and took the bowl away.

"Daphne, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she went to get a pan. Angel stopped her with a hand to the shoulder.

"You've been acting weird all day. What's going on?" Daphne stared at him for a moment before sighing and sitting down.

"I'm just feeling a little guilty." Angel frowned and sat down as well.

"Guilty about what?"

"Lying to Harry. Maybe...I've been thinking that he deserves to know the truth. I'm a little bit worried about what could happen if he doesn't know the truth." Angel frowned at her.

"Daphne, what are you talking about?" She hesitated for a moment.

"You know I've been keeping up with the news back in the wizarding world, right? I get the newspapers and there have been some weird things happening for a while now back there. Things that seem very familiar. And then there was this interview that I read with Albus Dumbledore...he was trying to convince people of something...something no one would want to believe."

"Okay. So, what does this have to do with Harry?"

"Voldemort's alive." Angel froze and his eyes widened.

"What? Voldemort...as in the wizard that killed Harry's parents? The guy that Harry somehow killed when he was a baby?" Daphne nodded.

"I didn't want to tell Harry. I was afraid of what he'd do. Voldemort murdered his parents, Angel and tried to kill him." Angel glared at her.

"How long have you known this? Do you think this guy would come after Harry? Daphne, why didn't you tell _me_?" Daphne sighed and stood up, looking away from him.

"For a while, I was hoping that it wasn't true, Angel. When I saw the interview, I knew it was, though. I don't think the rest of the wizarding world believes Dumbledore but I do. I know that man; I know he wouldn't tell the world unless he was sure. After that..." She turned back to him, "Angel, Dumbledore's a good man. He'll most likely lead this war and it's a good choice but I fought in the last war and I know the way he fights. He will do _anything _to win."

"Again, what does that have to do with Harry? These people couldn't possibly think that Harry could fight off this powerful wizard could they?" Daphne put her hands on the table, leaning towards him.

"Angel, Harry defeated Voldemort when he was a year old, when no one else in the world could. I know that Dumbledore and the rest of them have been searching for Harry since he disappeared. I've slipped into that world a few times...I know that they've stepped up the search since the date that Dumbledore claims Voldemort returned."

"Do you think they'll find him?" Daphne smiled humorlessly and shook her head.

"No. I've stepped up my protection too. As long as Harry lives here, on top of the hellmouth and both you and I are still alive no one should be able to find him."

"But you're still worried." Daphne sighed.

"Both of them, Dumbledore and Voldemort, are very powerful wizards. Most likely the two most powerful wizards in existence." Angel stared at her for a moment.

"You want to tell him." Daphne hesitated again before nodding.

"I think...he deserves to know. I've kept this from him for too long already. He'll be seventeen in a few months, of age in the wizarding world," she smiled softly; "he's almost a man now, Angel. He deserves to know the truth especially if he could be in danger."

"Do you really think he could be? Do you really think Voldemort would come after him?" Daphne did not answer but Angel saw it in her eyes.

"I'll wait." She said after a moment. "At least until after Buffy's birthday but I think I should tell him soon."

* * *

"So, you are coming tonight, right?" Harry asked. He was lying on his back on Faith's bed next to her. She flipped through the channels of the tiny TV and glanced over at him.

"I said I would, didn't I?" He grinned at her.

"Just making sure." The past couple of months had been great. Faith and Buffy were actually sort of friends now and he and Faith were going good. His assurance that he and Buffy were never more than friends and Buffy and Angel's growing relationship had put to rest any resentment that Faith had towards Buffy.

Life seemed about as perfect as it could get living in a place like Sunnydale. Buffy and Angel were going strong and Harry didn't think he'd ever seen Angel as happy. Even Willow and Xander were making connections. Granted, it was a little bit strange seeing Xander and Cordelia together but Xander seemed happy...

He and Faith had practically picked up where they had left off back in Boston. He never expected grand declarations from her and he could wait for that if he had to. He was just happy that she was there and that she and Buffy were getting along.

He should have known it would all go to hell.

* * *

Buffy's birthday party did not go as planned. First there were the party crashers, then learning that Spike and Drusilla truly were alive. Then, Angel had announced that he would have to leave for months to keep the judge from being assembled. Then, they'd lost the arm and Buffy and Angel had gone to check out Spike and Drusilla's place and only Buffy had come back...the next morning...

Later, he'd mark the moment when Buffy had opened that box with the Judge's arm in it as the moment that started it all but really it was the moment he'd walked into his house after Buffy had come back...

* * *

Daphne was nervous. She'd been planning on telling Harry about Voldemort that day but when he'd told her what was going on, she decided to wait, again, and now Angel was missing. She'd been planning on going out to help find him when the door opened.

"Angel!" She said in relief, standing up. "Harry's been worried about you." Angel nodded, a smile on his lips.

"He should be worried about you." She frowned.

"What?" Angel's smile grew and then his face changed.

* * *

He hadn't been paying much attention to his surroundings at first, too worried about Angel and what could have happened when he got separated from Buffy. He'd closed the door and took off his jacket before he saw her. When he did, he froze in place and he thought maybe his heart stopped beating for a moment. He was barely aware of his back hitting the wall, of somehow ending up on the floor, still staring at her face.

* * *

"Harry's not answering his phone," Buffy paced in the library in front of Giles, "I'm worried."

"I'm sure he's fine." She shook her head.

"I found Angel too. He was acting...weird. Not like himself." She didn't say what he'd said or what happened between her and Angel the night before. After she'd thought it through and got done crying about what Angel had said, she realized that something was wrong here. That was not Angel. She refused to believe that he could hurt her like that. And now Harry was missing too...

"I'm going to his apartment. Something's going on."

* * *

"Oh, God." Buffy put a hand to her mouth when she opened the door to Angel's apartment. She froze like that, staring wide-eyed at the mess. Daphne was lying on the floor in the center of the room. Her eyes were open but unseeing. Her neck was exposed and it was obvious how she had died.

A strange sort of choking noise took her attention away from Daphne and she looked over. Harry was sitting with his back to the wall. His knees were pulled up to his chest and he was staring at Daphne as well.

"Harry," when she was able to make herself move, Buffy went over and knelt beside him. "Harry?" She reached out and brushed his hair back before resting her hand on the back of his neck.

"They can't get in," he whispered, still staring at Daphne, "they can't get in. How did they get in?" Buffy closed her eyes against the pain of the realization, the way that Angel had acted when she had seen him earlier suddenly making sense. There was only one vampire who could have gotten into this place while Daphne had still been alive.

Buffy pulled Harry close to her in a hug but he never took his eyes off of his mother.


	15. Empty

Buffy managed to get Harry outside by the time they came to take Daphne's body away. He didn't fight her but he also wasn't really moving on his own. Well, he wasn't fighting until they did get outside. It was when they were putting the stretcher into the ambulance when he gripped her hand tightly and finally turned her. His eyes were frantic.

"She can't...She won't be..." Buffy had to close her eyes for a second. She knew what he was thinking.

"No, she won't," she ran her hand through his hair again, trying to calm him down. She'd take care of it herself if she had to. She didn't think Daphne would turn but if she did, Buffy would take care of it and Harry would never know.

When they were alone, Buffy stood up. She kept her hand in Harry's as she started walking. She didn't speak as she walked and neither did Harry. She wasn't sure what she could say, wasn't sure if Harry knew about Angel. _Angel. _Quickly, she forced the thought of him out of her mind and tried to focus on Harry. She had to. Finally, they got to her house and she pulled him inside.

"Buffy? Oh, hi Harry." Her mom smiled at them but it was short lived at the look on their faces. Harry said nothing to her. He gave Buffy a dazed look before wondering away from her and upstairs.

"Can he stay here for a little bit?" Buffy asked quietly, her eyes still on Harry. Her mom got her attention by putting a hand on her shoulder and Buffy had to force back tears when she met her eyes.

"What's happened?" Buffy shook her head.

"Daphne's dead. He's not....he's sort of..." She shook her head again. Harry hadn't said anything since she had first found him. "I need to call Faith and he needs a place to stay."

"Of course he can stay here." Buffy nodded and started up the stairs. "Just call me if you need anything...if he needs anything."

* * *

Faith walked idly through the graveyard, spinning the stake in her hand. Buffy was supposed to have met her to go patrolling but she hadn't shown up. Maybe she should have been worried but she had called Giles.

It was strange, this new dynamic. She wasn't used to it. Harry was the only person that she had ever truly cared about. It was odd to get that worried feeling when Buffy didn't show where she was supposed to. She'd been around Harry for to long.

It wasn't like it was too big a deal. She could handle a few vampires herself. Spike and Drusilla were probably still caught up in their big plan which no one was quite sure how to stop yet.

She spun suddenly when she heard someone walking behind her, raising her stake. She let it drop when she saw who it was.

"Angel, hey." He smiled a little, stepping closer.

"Faith. You out alone tonight?"

* * *

"Giles, hey. Look, I can't get a hold of Faith and I kinda need her." Buffy said as soon as he answered the phone.

"Oh, well, she called just after you left. Said that you were supposed to meet her?" Buffy let out a sigh.

"Right. Patrolling. Do you know where she is now?"

"Well, she said she would go herself and meet us back here to discuss how to stop Spike and Drusilla." Buffy gripped the phone tighter, a sudden worry gripping her.

"She went patrolling by herself?"

"Buffy, she can take care of herself and I doubt that she will encounter those two tonight." Buffy nodded, even though he couldn't see her but the worry didn't leave.

"Could you just tell her to call me when she gets in? Or, better yet, tell her to just come over."

"Is something the matter?" Giles voice was worried now. "Did something happen to Harry?"

"Daphne's dead." She stated bluntly. "Harry's gonna need her. I gotta go. Could you just...tell the others for me. And tell them to be careful. There was only one vampire who could have gotten into Daphne and Harry's home, one that Daphne would have let in and wouldn't have fought against." She hung up before she could hear his answer. She did not want to discuss this, not yet.

She opened the door to her room and found Harry on her bed. He was sitting against the headboard with his knees pulled up and his arms wrapped around them. He was staring out into space.

"Hey," Buffy said softly. She went over and sat down next to him. She wasn't sure what to do. She was fighting the urge to break down herself at the thought of Angel but she forced herself to push her own pain at the situation to the back of her head. He needed her.

She scooted closer to him and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't react but she kept the motions up. After a little bit, his head tilted to the side rested on her shoulder.

* * *

Buffy made her way up to the school. She hadn't wanted to leave Harry but she was getting more and more worried. She still hadn't heard from Faith and when she'd called Giles he said that she hadn't checked in with them either. Harry was sleeping and no matter how much she hated leaving him she knew that he wouldn't be able to take it if something happened to Faith as well.

She stopped short on her way to the library when she heard voices and came around the corner. Xander and Jenny Calendar stood facing Angel, who had Willow by the throat.

"I got a message for Buffy." Angel said and she stepped closer.

"Well, it's not really the kind of message you tell. It sort of involves finding the bodies of all your friends." Buffy took another step, staring into his eyes.

"Like Daphne? You killed her, didn't you?" She heard a gasp from Willow at this but kept looking at Angel. "Why? Why didn't you just wait? You could have just waited a little longer. Harry would have been home by then..." She felt a little sickened by the thought but this wasn't Angel, not the man she knew. Her Angel would never kill Daphne, never hurt his son like that.

"Maybe I just wanted to see the look on his face." Buffy's stomach rolled and she shook her head.

"So, what?" She kept her gaze locked on Angel but she knew that Xander was coming up close behind him. "This is just some game? You did that to torture Harry?" He didn't get a chance to answer when Xander shoved a cross in his face and he threw Willow into him before turning to Buffy and grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Things are about to get very interesting." He kissed her before shoving her back and disappearing. She stared after him, not even hearing when her friends started to call to her.

* * *

"Well, something set it off. Some event must've triggered his transformation. Well, if anyone would know, Buffy, it should be you." Buffy looked up when Giles said that and felt like she was going to be sick again.

"I don't."

"Well, did anything happen last night that, that might..." Buffy shook her head, standing.

"Giles, please, I can't." She literally ran from the room. She couldn't discuss this anymore. Was this really something she did? Was what they'd done the night before the reason? What if it was? What if it was her fault? What if she was the reason Daphne was dead?

She ran all the way home. When she got to her room, Harry was curled up on his side in her bed. She sighed, trying to slow her heat, trying to force back her tears. His eyes opened and he turned over on his back and propped himself up on his elbows.

"You came back." He was frowning slightly, like he hadn't expected her to. She nodded and took off her coat.

"Sorry for leaving." He shrugged and she kicked off her shoes before getting into bed beside him.

"You'll stay?" She nodded and he rested his head on her shoulder again. She reached out to grab his hand. She only let herself cry when she knew that he was asleep. It took her awhile to fall asleep herself.

* * *

Buffy sat straight up in bed with a gasp. The dream that she'd had running over and over and she felt a new emotion welling up in her. Anger.

"She knew this would happen."

"Who did?" She jumped and looked over at Harry, who was sitting up as well. She hesitated. The dazed look had left his eyes, replaced by a sort of emptiness that she liked even less.

"It...it doesn't matter." Harry shook his head and got up, putting on his shoes.

"You're pissed at someone. Let's go."

* * *

Buffy had promised herself that she wouldn't get violent to this, no matter how angry she was, not with Harry there. He had refused to be left behind. He still hadn't cried yet.

He wasn't really dealing with it, she could tell. He wasn't talking about it, trying not to think about and probably, even though he did know it on some level, refused to believe that it was Angel who had killed Daphne.

When she'd walked into the classroom and saw Jenny talking to Giles so calmly, like nothing had happened, she couldn't help it. Rage rose up. She had the picture of Angel, holding Willow by the throat, of Daphne's blank eyes staring up at the ceiling, of Harry's dazed ones when she'd found him.

"What do you know?!" She slammed the woman against her desk.

"Buffy!" Giles pulled her off of Jenny.

"Did you do it? Did you know this was going to happen?"

"I didn't know... exactly. I was told...I was sent here to watch you. They told me to keep you and Angel apart. They never told me what would happen." Giles stepped away from her, shock on his face.

"Jenny!"

"I'm sorry, Rupert. Angel was supposed to pay for what he did to my people." Buffy glanced back at Harry. He was standing not far away. He still hadn't said anything, he was simply staring at Jenny.

"And me?" Buffy asked, turning back to her. "What was I supposed to be paying for? What about Harry? You didn't even think about him, about what this would do to us?"

"I didn't know what would happen until after. I swear I would've told you." Guilt squirmed in Buffy's gut but she had to know.

"So it was me. I did it." Jenny nodded sadly.

"I think so. I mean, if you...It's the curse. If Angel achieved true happiness, even just a moment of...He would lose his soul."

* * *

"How is he?" Giles asked while they were waiting for Xander and the others to get back. to get back. She glanced over at Harry. He was sitting on the stairs in the library.

"Not good. I don't think he's really accepted it yet. He refuses to talk about it, he hasn't even cried. He refuses to leave, too. He wants to be in this. I don't think he wants to be alone." She shook her head. "I don't want him in this fight, Giles. Angel will be there...but I can't force him to go home either."

"Maybe...if he goes he'll be able to accept it, believe it." Buffy leaned closer to him.

"Please tell me you've heard from Faith." Giles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"No, I have not." Buffy closed her eyes.

"He's tormenting us. Harry and I were the closest ones to him. You said that he would go after the people closest to him. He knew Daphne for years. Harry's his son. He's tormenting Harry the best way he knows how and we haven't heard from Faith since last night."

"I'm sure she's fine." Giles said, though he sounded skeptical. "She has gone days before without checking in." Buffy shook her head again.

"That was before she and Harry got back together." She reached over and grabbed a weapon. "Could you stay with him? I'm going over to Faith's motel room."

"Buffy..."

"I have to find her, Giles. If something happened to her..." She glanced over at Harry again. He nodded with a sigh. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

There was nothing in Faith's motel room. It was exactly the way she had seen it last. She couldn't really tell if Faith had been there or not. Faith wasn't really much of a housekeeper.

She reached for the phone, intending to call Faith's cell again. This time she was surprised when someone answered but the voice was unfamiliar.

"Who is this?"

* * *

By the time she got back to the school, Xander and the others were back and Giles was opening what he'd brought. Buffy was feeling the rage again, only this time it wasn't directed at Jenny.

"Buffy...?" She heard the concern in Giles voice and simply shook her head. She couldn't talk about it now. She glanced over at Harry, who was watching her. There was something in his eyes that told her he knew something bad had happened but he didn't ask.

"Are you sure?" She asked him. He shrugged.

* * *

Buffy held Harry's hand as they walked through the hospital. He still hadn't said anything. He'd stood beside her throughout the fight, though it wasn't really much of a fight. He'd shown no reaction to Angel being there. He hadn't spoken once. She would have thought that he was unaware of anything except that he refused to go to far from her side.

He had wanted to come here. She had tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't listen. He had simply given her that empty look and said that he had to.

Buffy squeezed his hand when they got to the right room and forced back tears once again. She'd been doing that a lot lately. Faith was lying in the bed, unconscious. She had a wound on her abdomen that had apparently come from her own stake and a head wound from smashing through a monument in the graveyard. The doctors said she might never wake up.

After a moment, Harry released her hand and stepped closer to the bed. Faith's face was pale and bruised. Buffy couldn't hold back and a few tears slipped out when Harry bent to kiss her forehead. This wasn't fair. In one night, Harry had lost his family and his girlfriend.

Harry straightened and met her eyes. His were still empty.


End file.
